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1 I he War 



cfc in the 




•-4 ))>» >-H W»*^^ ^ « ^..^ - 

JAPAfl, 

CHINA. 

AND COf^Efl. 

A complete history of the War : Its causes and results ; 

its campaigns on sea and land ; its terrific fights, ^ 

grand victories and overwhelming defeats. 

With a preliminary account of the customs, habits 
^ and history of the three peoples involved. Their 

cities, arts, sciences, amusements and literature. 

BV / 

TRUMBULL WHITE, 

Late Correspondent of the "North China Daily News," and the "Kobe Herald." 

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

JUlilUS K^MPEI mflTUiVIOTO, A. m. 

OF TOKIO, JAPAN. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY* 

TEITOKU MORIMOTO, J. C. FIREMAN, 

and others. 

P. W. ZIEGLER & CO., 
Philadelphia, Pa.; St. Louis, Mo. 

/£ 1 JUL 301895 



Copyrighted, 1895, by 
TFiUMBULI- WHIlIi 






~-K 



• c 

c ( ' 



PREFACE. 

Some striking act in a man's career is necessary to attract gen-* 
eral attention to him. The one who moves along through his 
\' path in life doing nothing out of the ordinary, will win few 
glances from the public, and little will the world notice his exist- 
ence. Worthy of the worthiest he may be, but if he does nothing 
~ to demonstrate it, how shall the world know his merit or his 
*^ strength? But with all this true, it does not follow that it is 
^ man's duty to seek an occasion to advertise these qualities. Only 
^ when the necessity for action arises, then should he act, and then 
will the world know what his ability and character are. 

The same is true as to the nations of the earth. Those years 
during which they move onward in their national life and history 
in peace and quietness, however full of latent strength they may 
be, are not the ones which command the attention of the eyes of 
the world. It is the year of supreme test, of struggle, moral or 
physical, that furnishes crucial testimony what the nation really 
is. War is always a cul'se unless it be waged to advance justice 
and assure more worthy peace. But if such a war be necessary, 
the progress of it, the results, and the lessons they teach are essen- 
tial to the student of humanity, in whatever quarter of the globe 
the battles are. 

China, Japan and Corea are a strange trinity to most of us in 
the western world. Separated from us by long distances and by 
immense differences in race, in language, in religion, and in cus- 
toms, they have been known here only through the writings of 
the comparatively few travelers who exchange visits. Of late 
years, it is true, the hermitages of the Orient have been opening 
to freer intercourse, trade and treaties have multiplied, and 
students have come to us for the knowledge we could give them. 
But there was needed a great movement of some sort to awaken 
the Orient from its centuries of slumber, and to make known to 
us the truth of eastern affairs. Nothing could do this as the War 
in the East has done. We can study its conduct and its results if 

C6) 



^ 



6 PREFACE. 

we will, in a way to teach us more of the characteristics of the 
three nations than we could learn in any other way. 

It has been the object of the author in the present volume, to 
record the facts of the war and its preliminaries so clearly that 
every seeker for knowledge might trace the lessons for himself. 
To justify this effort, it is necessary to say no more than that the 
conflict involves directly nations whose total population includes 
more than one-fourth of the human race. And the results will 
affect the progress of civilization in those countries, as well as the 
commercial and other interests of all the European and American 
nations. 

Invertebrate China, with scorn of western methods, and com- 
placent rest in the belief that all but her own people are bar- 
barians, had to face an inevitable war with Japan, the sprightly, 
absorbent, adaptive, western-spirited, whose career in the two 
score years since her doors were opened to the call of the American 
Perry has been the marvel of those who knew it. And the con- 
flict was to be on the soil of the Hermit Nation, Corea, " the Land 
of Morning Calm," for centuries the land of contention between 
"the Day's Beginning" and "the Middle Kingdom.'* 

It is to record the history and description of these realms and 
peoples in sufficient detail to make plainer the facts of the war 
that tlie preliminary chapters are written. The work must speak 
for itself. The importance of the subjects included in the volume 
must be the explanation of any inadequacy of treatment. 

Trumbull White. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I. CHINA, THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM. 

CHAPTER I.— History from the Earliest Times to First Contact 

with European Civilization ..... 33 

CHAPTER II.— History from First Contact with European Civ- 
ilization to the Outbreak of the War with Japan . . 71 

CHAPTER III.— The Chinese Empire, its Geography, Govern- 
ment, Climate, and Products ..... 99 

CHAPTER IV.— The Chinese People, their Personal Character- 
istics, Manner of Life, Industries, Social Customs, Art, 
Science, Literature, and Religion • • . .135 



PART n. JAPAN, THE ISLAND EMPIRE. 

CHAPTER v.— History from the Earliest Times to First Contact 

with European Civilization . .... 187 



CHAPTER VI.— History from First Contact with European Civ- 
ization to the Present Time — How the United States 
Opened Japan to the World .... 

CHAPTER VII.— The Japanese Empire, its Geography, Govern 
ment, Climate, and Products .... 

CHAPTER VIII.— The Japanese People, their Personal Charac 
teristics, Manner of Life, Industries, Social Customs 
Art, Science, Literature, and Religion 



223 



265 



285 



PART m. COREA, THE HERMIT NATION. 

CHAPTER IX. — History from the Earliest Times to the 

Present ........ 327 

CHAPTER X.— The Kingdom of Corea, its Geography, Govern- 
ment, Climate, and Products ..... 372 

C7) 



8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XT.— The Coreans and how they Live, their Per- 
sonal Characteristics, Industries, Social Customs, Art, 
Science, Literature, and Religion . . . .391 



PART IV. THE WAR BETWEEN JAPAN AND CHINA. 

CHAPTER XII.— Causes of the War, Condition of the Three 
Nations at the Outbreak of Hostilities, and the Prepara- 
tions for the Impending Struggle .... 419 

CHAPTER XIII.— How the Conflict Began. The First Overt 
Acts of Offense, the Sinking of the Kow- shing, and the 
Formal Declarations of War by the Rulers of Japan and 
China ........ 437 

CHAPTER XIV.— From Asan to Ping-Yang. The Campaign in 
the North of Corea During August aiid Early Sep- 
tember ........ 457 

CHAPTER XY.— On Land and Sea. The Assault on Ping-Yang 
by the Japanese, and the Flight of the Chinese. Battle 
off the Yalu River, the First Great Fight Between Mod- 
ern Battle Ships, and its Lessons .... 481 

CHAPTER XVI.— The Advance into China. Japan's Forward 
Movement across the Yalu River. Li Hung Chang Los- 
ing his Influence in Chinese Affairs .... 507 

CHAPTER XVII —Review of the State of the Conflict and the 
Lessons to be Learned by the Aspect of Affairs at the 
First of November ...... 543 

CHAPTER XVIII.— Preparing to Attack Port Arthur. Ad- 
vance Movements on the Kwang Tung Peninsula . 562 

CHAPTER XIX.— Port Arthur. Successful Assault on the 

Chinese Stronghold. Barbarity to the Wounded and 

Prisoners on Both Sides. Horrible Mutilation and 
Brutality . . . . . . . .583 

CHAPTER XX.— From Port Arthur to Wei-hai-wei. China's 

Offer of Peace. Envoy Rejected. . . . .611 

CHAPTER XXI.— The Expedition to Capture Wei-hai-wei and 

its Success. Admiral Ting's Suicide . . . 629 

CHAPTER XXII.— The End of Hostile Operations. Capture of 

Niuchwang and Hai-chow ..... 643 

CHAPTER XXIII.— The Negotiations for Peace. Terms of the 

Treaty. Probable Results of the War . . .656 



LIST OF ILLUSTMTIOIS. 



Battle Field of Ping- Yang, 

Battle of the Yalu, 

The Fight of Ping-Yang, 

Chinese Musician, 

Chinese Idea of Creation, 

Emperor Shun Plowing, 

View from Summer Palace, Peking 

Chinese Temple, 

Image of Confucius, . 

Manchoorian Ministers, 

Great Wall of China, 

Buddhist Priest, 

Chinese Archers, 

Chinese Writer, 

Chinese Cannoniers, . 

Ancient Chinese Arch, 

A Chinese Lodging House, 

Chinese Priest, 

Man of Swatow, 

Chinese Paper-Maker, 

Chinese Peasant, Peiho District, 

Battle of Crickets, 

Chinese Mandarin, 

Gate at Peking, 

Opium Smokers, 

Chinese Miners, 

Chinese Farm Scene, 

Chinese Tea Farm, 

Chinese Street Scene, 

Chinese Farmer, 

An Imperial Audience, 

Preparation of Vermicelli, 

Chinese Ladies, 

Palanquin of a High Official, 

The Governor of a Province, 

Punishment by the Gangue, 

Flogging a Culprit, . 

Outside Peking, 

Discipline on the March in the Chinese Army, 

A Typhoon, 

Bandaging the Feet, . 

The Seat of the War, 

The Punishments of Hell, 

Chinese Cart, . 

School Boy, 

Chinese School, 

Chinese Engineers Laying a Military Telegraph, 

Chinese School Girl, ..... 



PAGE 

Frontispiece. 
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28 
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(9> 



10 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chinese Artist, . . . 

Chinere Barber, .... 

Porter's Chair, .... 

Chinese Emperor, King of Corea, and Chinese Officials, 

Buddhist Temple, .... 

Temple of Five Hundred Gods, at Canton, 

Japanese Musician, .... 

The Mikado and his Principal Officers, . 

Japanese God of Thunder, . 

Japanese God of Riding, 

Japanese Peasantry, .... 

Japanese God of War, 

Tokio Types and Costumes, 

Japanese Musician, .... 

Japanese Silk Spinner, 

Colossal Japanese Image, 

JapaneseFemale Types, 

Shinto Temple, .... 

Japanese God of Wind, 

Daimios of Japan, .... 

Sketch Showing Development of Japanese Army 

Buddhist Priest, .... 

Japanese Junk, .... 

Old Time Japanese Ferry, . 

Scenes of Industrial Life, . . . 

Japanese Bell Towers, 

Image of Buddha, .... 

Japanese Samurai or Warrior of the Old Time, 

Japanese General of the Old Time, 

Japanese Bridge, .... 

Baptism of Buddha, .... 

Woman of Court of Kioto, . 

Chinese Coolie, .... 

Japanese Gymnasts — Kioto, 

Formosan Type, .... 

Entrance to Nagasaki Harbor, 

Fuji- yama, ..... 

Japanese Idols, .... 

Japanese Jugglers, .... 

Japanese Court Dress, Old Style, . 

Council of War on a Japanese Battle-Ship, 

Dressing the Hair, .... 

Child Carrying Baby, 

The Chinese Fleet at Wei-hai-wei, 

Japanese Bath, .... 

Japanese Couch, .... 

Sketches in Japan and Corea, 

Geisha Girls Playing Japanese Musical Instruments 

Japanese Alphabet, New, 

Japanese Alphabet, Old, 

Shinto Priest, ..... 

Japanese Troops Landing at Chemulpo, . 

Street Scenes, ..... 

The Ainos, ..... 

Rats as Rice Merchants, 

Corean Landscape, . . . 

Raw Levies for the Chinese Army, . 

Pagoda at Seoul, , , , . 

Corean Soldiers, .... 



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334 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



11 



Fighting Before the Gate of Seoul, 

Old Man in Corea, ..... 

Coast Near Chemulpo, .... 

Corean Mandarins, . . . . , 

Colossal Corean Idol — Un-jin Miriok, 

Map Showing Japan, Corea and Part of China, 

Corean Bull Harrowing, .... 

Corean City Wall, ..... 

Chinese Protected Cruiser Chih-Yuen, 

Gate of Seoul, ...... 

Naval Attack on the Chen- Yuen Before Chemulpo, 
Corean Magistrate and Servant, 
Japanese Naval Attack on Foits at Wei-hai-wei, 
Statesman on Monoc3^cle, .... 

Corean Brush Cutter, .... 

Porters With Chair, ..... 

Japanese Warship, '* Yoshino, 

Corean Boat, ...... 

The Battle at Asan, ..... 

Corean Eggseller, ..... 

Japanese Soldiers Descending from the Castle at Fenghwang 
Corean Band of Musicians, .... 

Japanese Coolies Following the Army, 

Japanese Army at Chiu-lien-cheng, 

The Corean Regent, ..... 

Corean Natives Viewing Japanese Soldiers, 
Sinking of the Kow-shing, .... 

Mr. Otori Before the Commissioners, 

Japanese Army on the March, 

Procession in Seoul, ..... 

After the Battle, ..... 

The Attack on Ping- Yang, .... 

Opening the Gates at Ping- Yang, . 

Fighting at Foochow, .... 

Capture of Ping- Yang, .... 

First Sight of Ping-Yang, .... 

Battle of the Yalu— Sinking of the Chih-Yuen, . 
Bringing in the Wounded, .... 

The Mikado Reviewing the Array, 

Corean Police Agent, . , . . 

Japanese Kitchen in Camp, 

Japanese Soldier Saluting a Field Cemetery, 

Crowd in Tokio Looking at Pictures of the War, 

Japanese Ambulance Officer, 

Chinamen Mutilating Refnains of Japanese Soldiers, 

The Ping-Yuen ..... 

The Yoshino, . . . . . . 

Japanese Advance at the Crossing of the Yalu River, 
The Matsusima, ..... 

H. Sakomoto, ...... 

Japanese Infantry Attacking a Chinese Position, 

Principal Street of Mukden, 

Chinese Troops Trying to Save Their Artillery, 

Transporting Chinese Troops, 

Japanese Military Hospital, 

Review of Chinese Troops at Port Arthur, 

Japanese Soldiers Digging Well, . 

Constantino von Hannecken, . • 

The Attack on Port Arthur, , 



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12 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Victorious Enemy, 



the Inner Harbor, 



Surrender of Chinese General and Staff, . 

Map of Territory Adjacent to the Mouth of the Yalu, . 

Japanese Array Crossing the Yalu on a Pontoon Bridge, 

The Japanese at Port Arthur, 

Sinking of the Kow-shing, . 

Naval Skirmish July 25th, . 

Routed Chinese Flying Before the 

Skirmish on July 27th, 

Before the Wall of Seoul, . 

Japanese Cavalrymen, 

Port Arthur — Transports Entering 

General Nodzu, 

Chinese Earthworks, 

View of Talien-wan Bay, 

Port Arthur — Japanese* Coolies Removing Chinese Dead, 

Japanese Skirmishers before Port Arthur, 

Retreat of Chinese Soldiers After the Fall of Port Arthur, 

Japanese Soldiers Removing Dead Bodies, 

Japanese Attack on Port Arthur, .... 

The Attack on Kinchow, ..... 

Port Arthur from the Bay, ..... 

Japanese Soldiers Mutilating Bodies, 

Marshal Oyama, ...... 

Chang Yen Hoon ...... 

Distant View of Wei-hai-wei and its Surroundings, 
Admiral McClure, ...... 

Japanese Soldiers Escorting Chinese Prisoners, . 
Chinese Soldiers on the March, .... 

Chinese Soldier Laden with Provision, . , . 

Gap in the Great Wall at Shan-hai-kwan, • • 



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INTRODUCTIOIS. 



The unexpected news of war between the Mikado's Empire and 
the Celestial Kingdom has startled the whole world. Thereby 
considerable light was thrown upon the Oriental world. 

Japan, up to a very short time ago, through the pen and tongue 
of poets and artists, who have visited this land, has been thought 
to be merely a country of beautiful flowers, charming madem- 
oiselles, fantastic parasols, fans and screens. Such misrepresenta- 
tion has long impressed the western mind, and the people hardly 
imagined Japan as a political power, enlightened by a perfect 
educational system and developed to a high pitch of excellence in 
naval and military arts. 

The war in the East is certainly interesting from more than one 
point of view. Viewing it from the humane standpoint, Japan is, 
indeed, the true standard-bearer of civilization and progress in the 
far east. Her mission is to enlighten the millions of slumbering 
souls in the Celestial Kingdom, darkened for generations. Polit- 
ically, she, with her enterprising genius, youthful courage and 
alert brain, as well as the art and science of civilization, has lifted 
herself into the ranks of the most powerful nations of the earth, 
and compelled the whole of the western powers to reckon her as a 
" living force," as she has proved her right to a proud place among 
the chief powers of the world. Commercially, she has demon- 
strated herself the mistress of the Pacific and Asiatic Seas. 

From the outbreak of the war all the civilized nations, except 
England, have sympathized with Japan, especially the people of 
America have given a strong moral support to Japan, not because 
this country is the warmest friend of Japan, but because Japan is, 
to-day, the propagandist of civilization and humanity in the far 
east. 

At the beginning of the hostilities a majority of the people had 
an erroneous idea that the overwhelming population and resources 

(13) 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

of China would soon be able to crush the Island Empire of Japan ; 
but they overlooked the fact that in our day it is science, brains 
and courage, together with the perfected organization of warfare 
that grasp the palm of victory. Thousands of sheep could do 
nothing against a ferocious wolf. So the numerical comparison 
has but little weight. 

Some sagacious writer compared Japan to a lively swordfish 
and China to a jellyfish, being punctured at every point. Truly 
Japan has proved it so. 

From the sinking of the Kow-shing transport, up to the present 
time, Japan has an unbroken series of victories over China. At 
the battle of Asan she gained the first brilliant victories and 
swept all the Chinese out of Corea, and at Ping-Yang, by both 
tactics and superb strategy, crushed the best army of China, which 
Li Hung Chang brought up to the greatest efficiency, by the aid 
of many European officers, as if it had been an egg shell. Again, 
at the mouth of the Yalu River, she gained a brilliant naval vic- 
tory over China, by completely destroying the Ping -Yang 
squadron. Once more on the land the Japanese army stormed 
Port Arthur, the strongest naval fort, known as the Gibraltar of 
China. 

All these facts are viewed with amazement by the eyes of the 
world. For all that the people know about Japan and the Japa- 
nese is that the people of Japan are very artistic, as the producers 
of beautiful porcelain, embroidery, lacquer work and all sorts of 
artistic fancy goods, and they wonder how it is possible that such 
an artistic people as the Japanese could fight against sober, calm 
Chinamen. But such an erroneous notion would soon vanish if 
they came to learn the true nature and character of the Japanese. 

More than once the world has seen that an artistic nation could 
fight. The Greeks demonstrated this long ago, and the French in 
the latter times have shown a shining example. Japan is reck- 
oned as one of the most artistic people in the world, as the pro- 
ducer of beautiful things, as the lover of fine arts and natural 
beauties. The Japanese have proved the same as what the ancient 
Greeks and modern French have shown. The history of Japan 
reveals the true color of the Japanese as brilliant fighters and 
a warlike nation. " In no country," says Mr. Rogers, " has mili- 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

tary instinct been more pronounced in the best blood of the peo- 
ple. Far back in the past, beyond that shadowy line where 
legend and history blend, their story has been one of almost con- 
tinual war, and the straightest path to distinction and honor has, 
from the earliest times, led across the battle field. The states- 
men of Japan saw, as did Cavour, that the surest way to win the 
respect of nations was by success in war." 

The ancestor of the Japanese people, who claim to have de- 
scended from high heaven, seems to have been the descendant of 
the ancient Hittites, the warlike and conquering tribe once 
settled in the plain of Mesopotamia. The Hittites, so far as our 
investigation is concerned, extending their sway of conquest 
towards the north-eastern portion of Asia, must have, at last, 
brought the Japanese family to the island of Japan. As they 
settled on the island, they found it inhabited by many different 
tribes ; but they soon vanquished them and established the ever- 
lasting foundation of the Mikado's Empire, which they called the 
" Glorious Kingdom of Military Valour." The first Mikado was 
Jimmu, whose coronation took place two thousand five hundred 
and fifty-four yenTS ago, long before Alexander the Great thought 
he had conquered the world and Julius Caesar entered Gaul. The 
present Mikado is the one hundred and twenty-second lineal 
descendant of the first Mikado Jimmu. The unbroken dynasty of 
the Mikado has continued for twenty-five centuries. The people 
are brave, adventurous and courageous. Fanatical patriotism 
for country and strong loyalty towards the Mikado are essential 
characteristics of the Japanese people. And all these tend to 
form the peculiar nationality of Japan. Since the establishment 
of the Mikado's Empire their land has never been defiled by in- 
vaders and they have never known how to be subject to a foreign 
5^oke. The history of Japan is the pride of the Japanese people. 

The Japanese, in an early time, have displayed their superior 
courage and distinguished themselves from the rest of the Asiatic 
nations in the point of military affairs. 

In the year A. D. 201 the Empress Jingo, the greatest female 
character in the Japanese history, undertook a gigantic expedi- 
tion to the Asiatic continent. She assembled an immense army 
and built a great navy. Placing herself as the commander-in- 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

chief of the invading army, she sailed for the continent. Her 
victory was brilliant. Corea was at once subjected without any 
bloodshed. Long since the Japanese power was established on 
the Asiatic continent. 

Again in the sixteenth century, ambitious Taiko, who is 
known as the Napoleon of Japan, undertook a great continental 
expedition, to show the military glory of Japan before the world. 
He found Japan too small to satisfy his immoderate ambition, and 
sent word to the emperor of China and the king of Corea that if 
they would not hear him, he would invade their territory with his 
invincible army. It was his plan to divide the four hundred prov- 
inces of China and eight provinces of Corea among his generals in 
fiefs, after conquering them. So he assembled his generals and 
fired their enthusiasm, recounting their exploits mutually achieved. 
All the generals and soldiers were delighted with the expedition. 
Fifty thousand samurai were embarked for the continent and sixty 
thousand reserve was kept ready in Japan as re-enforcement. 

The Japanese army was everywhere victorious. After many 
battles fought and fortresses stormed, the entire kingdom of Corea 
was subdued. The capitol was taken, the king fled. The em- 
peror of China sent an army forward against the Japanese and a 
severe battle was fought. The victorious Japanese were on the 
point of invading China, when in 1598, the death of Taiko was 
announced and the Japanese government ordered the invading 
army to return home. Peace was concluded. Thus the conquest 
of China was frustrated. 

The invasion of the Mongolian-Tartars is the most memorable 
event in Japanese history, which excited the utmost patriotism 
and valour of the nation. The dangers and glories at this time 
will never be forgotten by the Japanese. 

In the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan, who is now identified 
as Minamoto Yoshitsune or Gen Gi Kei in Japanese history, 
who left Japan for Manchilia, began his sway of conquest in 
Mongolia. The conquest of the whole earth was promised him. 
He vanquished China, Corea and the whole of Central and 
Northern Asia, subjected India and overthrew the Caliphate of 
Bagdad. In Europe, he made subject the entire dominion of 
Russia and extended the Mongolian Empire as far as the Oder 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

and the Danube. After his death the Empire was divided among 
his three sons. Kublai Khan received as his share North-eastern 
Asia. He had completely overthrown the Sung dynasty of 
China and founded the Mongolian dynasty. He placed the 
whole of Eastern Asia under his yoke, and then sent envoys to 
Japan, demanding tributes and homage. The nation of Japan 
was indignant at the insolent demand, for they were never accus- 
tomed to such treatment, and dismissed them in disgrace. Six- 
embassies were sent and six times rejected. Again, the haughty 
Mongolian prince sent nine envoys, who demanded a definite an- 
swer from the Japanese sovereign. The Japanese reply was 
given by cutting off their heads. 

At the sight of imminent foreign invasion, the Japanese were 
in a great hurry to prepare for war. Once more, and for the 
last time, Chinese envoys came to demand tribute ; again the sword 
gave the answer. Enraged, the great Mongolian prince prepared 
a gigantic armada to crush the island of Japan, which had re- 
fused homage and tribute to the invincible conqueror. The 
army, consisting of one hundred thousand Chinese and Tartars 
and seven thousand Coreans, aided by thirty-five hundred of 
armed navy, that seemed to cover the entire seas, sailed for the 
invasion in August of 1281. The whole nation of Japan now 
roused with sword in hand and marched against its formidable 
foe. Re-enforcements poured in from all quarters to swell the 
host of defenders. The fierce Mongolian force could not effect 
their landing, but were driven into the sea as soon as they 
reached the shore. Aided by a mighty typhoon, before which 
the Chinese armada was utterly helpless, the Japanese fiercely 
attacked the invaders and after a bloody struggle, they succeeded 
in destroying the enemy's war ships, and killing all or driving 
them into the sea to be drowned. The corpses were piled on the 
shore or floating on the water so thickly that it seemed almost 
possible to walk thereon. Only three out of hundreds of thou- 
sands of invaders, were sent back to tell their emperor how the 
brave men of Japan had destroyed their armada. 

The courage of the Japanese is fully manifested in these great 
events. Many ambitious men, seeking for military glory, have 
expatriated themselves from their own native lands, and gone ofi 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

to the less warlike countries of Asia, where they found them- 
selves by their distinguished courage and military genius, kings, 
ministers and generals. 

The Japanese seamen have long been renowned for their ad- 
venturous spirit and audacity. Trading ships of Japan, in the 
remotest ancient age, are said to have sailed around the Persian 
Gulf, beyond the Indian seas. It is said that at the beginning of 
the fourteenth century a Japanese junk had discovered the 
American Pacific sea-coast, now known as the regions of Oregon 
and California. For a long time the Japanese pirates were the 
mistress of all the eastern seas. China, Siam, Birmah and the 
southern islands had paid tribute to them. The name of the 
Japanese was, indeed, the terror of the Oriental world, just as 
the northmen had been the object of dread to the southern 
Europeans. 

A policy, that was adopted by the Japanese people in the seven- 
teenth century, was an injurious one for its national development. 
Up to this time, foreign intercourse was free and commerce flour 
ished. Nagasaki, Hirado, Satsuma, and all western seaports were 
the cosmopolitan cities, where all European and Asiatic trades- 
men were found crowded. Unfortunately these foreigners were 
sources of vice. The avarice and extortion of the foreign 
traders ; bitter sectarian strife between Dominicans, Franciscans 
and the Jesuits ; and the most cruel intolerance and persecution 
by the Catholic people, which were vices unknown to the Japa- 
nese mind ; political-religious plots of the Christians against the 
Japanese government ; the slave trade carried on by the foreign 
merchants, and the like events, disgusted the Japanese authority, 
and forced them to believe the exclusion of the vicious foreigners 
was absolutely necessary to the welfare of Japan. Thus the 
Japanese resolved to expel all foreigners out of the islands. 
Tokugawa, the founder of Tai Kun shogunate, vigorously en- 
forced this principle and carried it so far that all the Roman 
Catholics both native and foreign were extinguished and all 
foreign merchants except a few Dutch, were expelled out of the 
country. The policy of the Tokugawa Government not only 
excluded the foreigners but also kept the natives at home. No 
foreigners (except the Dutch) were allowed to peep in this for- 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

bidden land and no native was permitted to leave his own 
country. Thus it was cut off from all the rest of the world. 
Japan furnishes different varieties of productions, which can amply 
supply all the needs of the nation without any inconvenience; 
hence commercial intercourse with foreign lands, was not abso- 
lutely necessary. In the course of time she had forgotten all 
about the outside world and so the world neglected her. 

The people, however, enjoyed a profound peace by this policy. 
Ignoring the rise and fall of other nations, the people in this 
ocean guarded paradise, cultivated arts and learning and devel- 
oped their own civilization, which is quite different from what 
we call now the civilization of the nineteenth century. While 
thus she was enjoying tranquility and cultivating the arts and 
learning in a secluded corner of the earth, in the western na- 
tions, endless struggles and everlasting contests completely rev- 
olutionized the old phases of the earth. The peace and culture 
of two centuries and a half, which Japan has enjoyed, exalted 
her to the certain state of civilization. But her isolated condi- 
tion and tranquility lacked the systematic development of army 
and navy and the arts of international negotiation, which are the 
weapons vitally important in order to stand on the field of 
struggle for existence. 

Suddenly this tranquility that has continued for two hundred 
and fifty years, was broken, when in 1853, the war ships of Com- 
modore Perry appeared in the Bay of Yeddo. This event threw 
into great confusion and panic the whole nation. Japan had no 
navy and no army to fight with the foreign intruders, nor had 
she the art of diplomacy, with which to consult in regard to the 
protection of Japan's interest. Japan stood then with her naked 
civilization against the armed civilization of Europe. She was 
forced to make a disadvantageous treaty with the European and 
American states at the cannon's mouth. In this treaty she con- 
ceded her sovereign right to the western people who live in the 
realm. 

Thus Japan entered, infamously, the group of the civilized 
world. She saw at once that the western nations were far in ad- 
vance of her in the art of war and diplomacy, that they have learned 
from the constant struggle of the past three centuries, wliile she 



20 INTRODUCTION. 

was devoted to arts and learning. She perceived that the so-called 
civilization of the 19th century is but a disguised form of barbar- 
ism of iron and fire, covered with comity and humanity, and that 
to exist in the field of struggle for existence she must adopt the 
same means by which the European nations stand. Hence the 
whole nation of Japan, since the intercourse with the western 
people, has struggled, with the utmost energy, to adopt what is 
called the 19th century civilization. 

In 1868 a revolution took place, from which the New Japan 
suddenly emanated. The French Revolution did not cause greater 
changes in France than the Revolution of 1868 in Japan. The 
old feudal regime, in full force, was castaway. The social system 
was completely reorganized. New and enlightened criminal and 
civil codes were enacted ; the modes of judicial procedure were 
utterly revolutionized ; the jail system radically improved ; the 
most effective organization of police, of posts, of railways, of tele- 
graphs, telephones and all means of communication were adopted ; 
enlightened methods of national education were employed ; and the 
Christian religion was welcomed for the sake of social innovation. 
The most complete national system of navy and army, after the 
modern European model, was achieved. The sound order of the 
imperial government, financially and politically, were firmly estab- 
lished ; the most improved and extended scheme of local govern- 
ment was put into operation, and the central government was or- 
ganized according to the pattern of the most advanced scale. The 
imperial constitution was promulgated, and the Imperial Diet, con- 
sisting of two houses — the House of Lords and House of Com- 
mons — elected by popular votes, was founded. Freedom of 
thought, speech and faith was established; the system of an influ- 
ential press and party rapidly grew up. Now the monarchial ab- 
solutism of the Mikado's Empire is replaced by a government by 
parliament and constitution. 

Such is the progress which Japan has achieved in the past twen- 
ty-five years. This progress must not, by any means, be taken as 
strange. The Revolution of 1868 also, must not be imagined as 
the birthday of the Empire of the Rising Sun. Those who do not 
know the true condition of the Japanese before the Revolution, 
and who observe superficially the phases of modern Japan, have 



INTRODUCTION". 23 

often said that the Japanese are merely imitating western civiliza- 
tion without any idea of understanding it. This a gross mistake. 
The Revolution of 1868 is merely a moment of transition when 
Japan adopted the western system. The Japanese mind was fully 
developed and enlightened, at the time when they came in contact 
with foreigners, to fully grasp western civilization. Mentally, 
the Japanese people were so enlightened as to be able to digest 
European science and art at one glance. As a clever writer has 
said ; " It must be clearly understood that like a skillful gardener, 
who grafts a new rose or an apple upon a healthy and well-estab- 
lished stock, so did Japan adopt the scientific and civil achievement 
of the west to an eastern root, full of vigorous life and latent 
force." For these causes we have no reason to wonder at the rapid 
progress which the Japanese have made in the past twenty-five 
years. And by all these facts, we have no reason to wonder how 
the colossal Celestial Empire, that was thought by the Europeans 
invincible, came to ask the mercy of Japan. 

The collision between Japan and China, though it was thought 
strange to those who are not familiar to eastern affairs, is not a 
surprising matter to the person well acquainted with Asiatic poli- 
tics. Japan had predicted, long ago, that the inevitable conflict 
of the two powers in the Orient must come sooner or later, and 
the nation has been long prepared for to-day. She has perceived the 
weakness and corruption of the Celestial Empire, while the Eu- 
ropean diplomats were dazzled, in the court of Peking, by an out-* 
ward appearance of unity, power, and majesty that the huge Mid- 
dle Kingdom maintained for centuries. She knew quite well that 
the lack of national spirit and effective system of government, 
hatred of races, depravity of the officers, ignorance of the people, 
corruption of naval and military organization and constant mal- 
administration of the Manchoorian government dominated the 
stupid empire, whose people still proudly style their country the 
" Flowery Kingdom, in the Enlightened Earth." 

The Japanese, as they are polite and artistic, are by no means 
a blood-thirsty race ; nay, far from that. But the present war is in 
an inevitable chain of circumstances. For a long time the Jap- 
anese and Chinese were not good friends, they hated each other, 
as much, if not more than the French and the Germans do to-day. 
2 



24 INTRODUCTION. 

Since Japan came in contact with the Europeans, she adopted, 
with the most marvelous activity, the western methods which have 
completely revolutionized the nation in a quarter of a centur}^ 
while China maintained her regime and looked upon all western 
arts and science with utmost hatred and contempt. So she re- 
garded Japan as the traitor of Asia. Naturally Japan represented 
the civilization and progress in the far east ; and China ultra-con- 
servatism. It was long expected that the collision of these two 
antagonistic principles must come. And so it has now come. 

Moreover, the goal of Japan was, as the leading spirit of Asia, to 
exalt herself among the first-class powers of the civilized world. 
But China, up to a very short time ago, pretended to be the mis- 
tress of Asia. Thus they envied each other, and conflict of the 
two powers for supremacy became inevitable. The first collision 
between Japan and China came in 1874, with the question of the 
Liu Klu Islands, which China abandoned for Japan, then the 
Formosa expedition provoked serious trouble between the two 
countries. In both cases Japan came off successful in the end. 

Again there were collisions in Corea, just as Rome and Carthage 
met in Sicily. Corea has for a long time, paid tribute both to 
Japan and China, 3^et neither had any definite sovereign right 
over Corea, but mere suzerain powers. In 1875, the Japanese 
government abandoned all her ancient, traditional suzerain rights 
in Corea, and concluded a treaty which recognized Corea as an 
independent State, enjoying the same sovereign powers as Japan. 
Soon after, the United States, England, France, Germany and 
Russia followed Japan's example. This friendly act of Japan by 
which she introduced Corea as an independent State among 
civilized nations, was a terrible blow to China, who still had the 
intention of claiming her traditional suzerainty over Corea. It 
must be remembered that the permanent neutrality of the Her- 
mit Kingdom is of vital importance to the prosperity and safety 
of the country of the Rising Sun. It is evident from this point 
of view that Japan can never permit the Chinese claim of suze- 
rainty, nor Russian aggression in Corea. 

From the time that Japan recognized Corea as an independent 
nation, she made great efforts for the progress of Corea. Many 
Corean students were educated and many Japanese, sent there as 



INTRODUCTION. 26 

instructors and as advisors, assisted the advancement of her civ- 
ilization. Japan has never failed to show her friendly sympathy 
towards Corea, for the progress and welfare of Corea as a firm in- 
dependent state, has great bearing upon Asiatic civilization, and 
upon the safety of Japan itself. 

While Japan was using her best efforts as the sincere friend of 
Corea, China constantly and secretly intrigued with the Corean 
government and the conservatives, in order to restore her old 
suzerainty and to annhilate Japan's influence in Corea. In 1882, 
an insurrection, instigated by the Chinese officers, broke out in 
Seoul. It was directed chiefly against the Japanese, as the pro- 
moters of foreign intercourse. The mob attacked the Japanese 
legation and several members were murdered. The Japanese 
minister and his staff escaped to the palace to find refuge, but 
found there the gates were shut against them, then they were 
obliged to cut their way through the mob and run all night to 
Chemulpo, where they were rescued by an English boat and re- 
turned to Japan. The insurrection was suppressed by a Chinese 
force and a number of the leaders were executed. The Corean 
government consented to pay a sum of ^500,000 as indemnity, 
but this was subsequently forgiven to Corea in consequence of in- 
ability to pay it. There were already existing in Corea two 
parties, that is, the progressive and the conservative. The former 
party represented civilized elements and the spirit of Japan, while 
the latter represented the majority of the officers and it was sup- 
ported by the Chinese government. These two parties were bitter 
enemies and struggled for supremacy. 

Since the rebellion of 1882, Chinese influence in Corea rapidly 
increased, consequently the conservative spirit predominated. 
Two years later, the leaders of the progressive party undertook a 
bold attempt when they saw that their party influence was wan- 
ing. During a dinner party to celebrate the opening of the new 
post-office, a plan was made to murder all the conservative leaders 
who had dominant influence in the government. They partly 
succeeded in the attempt. The revolutionary leaders proceeded 
to the palace, secured the person and the sympathy of the king, 
who sent an autograph letter to ask the Japanese minister for the 
protection of the royal palace. Thereon, the Japanese minister 



26 INTRODUCTION. 

guarded the palace for a few days with his legation guard of one 
hundred and thirty Japanese soldiers. In the meantime the Chi- 
nese force in Seoul, two thousand in number proceeded to the 
palace, and without any negotiation or explanation fired upon the 
Japanese guard. The king fled to the Chinese army and the 
Japanese retired to the palace of their legation which they found 
surrounded by the Chinese army. They abandoned the spot, find- 
ing it impossible to maintain tlie legation without any provisions, 
fought their way to Chemulpo, where they found their way to 
Japan. Many Japanese were killed in this event. The Japanese 
government demanded satisfaction from China on account of the 
action of the Chinese soldiers. The convention of Tien-tsin, after 
long negotiation between Count Ito, the present premier of Ja- 
pan and Li Hung Chang, the viceroy of China, was concluded. 
The main points of the Tien-tsin treaty were three : (1) that the 
king of Corea should provide a sufficient force to maintain order 
in future, to be trained by officers of some nation other than China 
or Japan ; (2) that certain internal reforms should be made ; (3) 
that if necessary to preserve order and protect their nations either 
Japan or China should have the right to dispatch troops to Corea, 
on giving notice each to the other, and that when order was re- 
stored both forces should be withdrawn simultaneously. 

The event of 1885 completely extinguished the Japanese in- 
fluence and established the Chinese authority in Corea. The 
Chinese minister in Seoul got complete possession of the Corean 
government, entirely crushed the revolutionary party and organ- 
ized an ultra-conservative government and appointed ministers at 
his will. Japan's influence in Corea has been almost nill during 
the past ten years, for she has been very busy with her internal 
reorganization and has not had much time to look after Corea. 

Two prominent leaders of the revolutionary party fled to Japan 
on account of the failure of the coup d' etat of 1885, where they 
found their asylum. The Chinese and Corean governments dis- 
patched missions to demand the extradition of these unfortunate 
political reformers, but Japan was firm in her refusal, on the 
ground of the ethics of international law. The Corean govern- 
ment, sanctioned by that of China, at once began to take meas- 
ures to effect the removal of these ruined leaders by other pro- 



o 

> 



2: 

O 
I 

> 

o 




INTRODUCTION. ^9 

cesses. Official assassins followed their footsteps for ten years in 
vain. But at last they succeeded in murdering Kim-ok-Kiun, 
one of those reformers, and most barbarous cruelties were com- 
mitted by the Chinese and Corean authorities. The murder of 
Kira-ok-Kiun excited great sympathy from the Japanese pub- 
lic. Many a time China and Corea cast disdain and contempt 
upon Japan's name. Many a time the political and commercial 
interest of Japan were impaired by them. Yet Japan forgave 
their insolence with generous heart. 

The progress of the late rebellion in Corea was beyond her 
power to check. A state of perpetual anarchy seemed to prevail. 
Insolent China seemed to be using the Corean mobs for her own 
advantage, and directly against Japan's interests. China, ignor- 
ing the treaty of Tien-tsin in 1885, sent troops to Corea. Japan 
no longer lightly viewed China's insolence and Corean disorder. 

Japan's ardent need to take a decided step in Corea, at this 
moment seemed a more cogent one in the commercial point of 
view than her political interest. The greater part of the modern 
trade of Corea has been created by Japan and is in the hands of 
her merchants ; the net value of Corean direct foreign trade for 
1892 and 1893 together was 14,240,498 with China, while 18,306,- 
571 with Japan. Hence the interest of Japan is twice that of 
China. In tonnage of shipping the proportion is vastly greater 
in favor of Japan. Her tonnage in 1893 was over twenty times 
that of China, as the exact figures show: tonnage — China, 14,- 
376 ; Japan, 304,224. Thus Japan's economic interests in Corea 
are decidedly greater than any other nation's. 

Immediately after China sent troops to Corea, Japan, also, sent 
her force, to preserve her political as well as economic interests, 
and determined not to draw back her troops until Corea should 
restore the sound order of society and wipe out the Chinese 
claim of Corean suzerainty, for so long as Chinese influence pre- 
dominates in Corea, any thoughts of her advancement are hope- 
less. For a long maladministration of the Li government had 
weakened the Hermit Kingdom. The country is no more than a 
desert and its people are plunged in the most miserable poverty 
of any in the poverty-stricken east. The Japanese government 
proposed to the Chinese government according to the Tien-tsin 



30 INTRODUCTION. 

treat}', a measure of internal reform for Corea, which was rejected 
with insult by the Chinese authority. 

At first Japan had, b}' no means, any intention to make war 
with China, but she was forced by her to enter the struggle. She 
has never infringed the ethics of international law, nor the comity 
of nations. It was China that provoked the eastern war, now 
raging in the Orient, but not Japan ; the true idea of Japan, in the 
war, is, by conquest, to put the blame on China for refusing to 
adhere faithfully to the spirit of her treaties and for trying to 
keep Corea in barbarism, and for endeavoring to stop the progress 
of civilization in Eastern Asia. Her mission in the east is to 
crush the insolent and ignorant self-conceit of the Peking govern- 
ment and to reform the barbarous abuses of the Corean adminis- 
tration. Therefore Japan fights to-day for the sake of civilization 
and humanity. 

After the eastern war was declared, four months had hardly 
passed, until the fighting power and the economic resources of the 
Chinese Empire were destroyed and exhausted. China was 
forced to beg the mercy of Japan. The banner of the " Rising 
Sun " is now triumphant. Japan dictating the terms of peace, 
signifies the beginning of a better era for benighted China and the 
preservation of permanent peace in the Orient. 

Julius Kumpei Matumoto, A. M., 

Tokio, Japan. 



China 




CHINESE MUSICIAN. 



HISTORICAIv SKETCH OF CHINA FROM THE EARIJ- 

EST TIMES TO FIRST CONTACT WITH 

EUROPEAN CIVIIylZATION. 



Origin of Chinese People— Legends— Golden Age of China— Beginnings of Authentic 
History— Dynasty of Chow— Cultivation of Literature and Progress— Music, Slavery, House- 
hold Habits Three Thousand Years Ago— Confucius and his Work— First Emperor of 
China— Burning of Boolcs- Han Dynasty— Famous Men of tiie Period— Paper Money and 
Printing— Invasions of Tartars and Mongols— Sung Dynasty— Literary Works— Famous 
Cliinese Poet— Literature, Law and Medicine— Kublai Khan— Ming Dynasty— Private 
Library of a Chinese Emperor— Founding of the Present Dynasty— Connection Between 
Chinese History and the Rest of the World. 

Obscurity shrouds the origin of the Chinese race. The 
Chinese people cannot be proved to have originally come from 
anywhere beyond the limits of the Chinese empire. At the 
remotest period to which investigations can satisfactorily go back, 
without quitting the domain of history for that of legend, we 
find them already in existence as an organized, and as a more or 
less civilized nation. Previous to that time, their condition had 
doubtless been that of nomadic tribes, but whether as immigrants 
or as true sons of the soil there is scarcely sufficient evidence to 
show. Conjecture, however, based for the most part upon 
coincidences of speech, writing or manners and customs, has 
been busy with their ultimate origin ; and they have been vari- 
ously identified with the Turks, with the Chaldees, with the 
earliest inhabitants of Ireland, and with the lost tribes of Israel. 

The most satisfactory, however, of recent conclusions, based 
on most careful investigations are as follows : The first records 
we have of them represent the Chinese as a band of immigrants 
settling in the north-eastern provinces of the modern empire of 
China and fighting their way amongst the aborigines much as the 
Jews of old forced their way into Canaan against the various 
tribes which they found in possession of the land. It is probable 
that though they all entered China by the same route they 
separated into bands almost on the threshold of the empire, one 

. -. (33) 



34 WHENCE CAME THE PEOPLE OF CHINA? 

body, those who have left us the records of their history in the 
ancient Chinese books, apparently following the course of tlie 
Yellow river, and turning southward with it from its northern- 
most bend, settling themselves in the fertile districts of the 
modern provinces of Shan-hsi and Honan. But as it is believed 
also that at about the same period a large settlement was made 
as far south as Anam of which there is no mention in the books 
of the northern Chinese, we must assume that another body 
struck directly southward through the southern provinces of 
China to that country. 

Many writers answer the question that arises as to whence 
these people came, by declaring that research directly points to 
the land south of the Caspian sea. They find many reasons in 
the study of languages which furnish philological proof of this 
assertion. And they afiirm that in all probability the outbreak 
in Susiana of possibly some political disturbance in about the 
24th or 23rd century B. C, drove the Chinese from the land of 
their adoption and that they wandered eastward until they 
finally settled in China and the country south of it. Such an 
emigration is by no means unusual in Asia. We know that the 
Ottoman Turks originally had their home in northern Mongolia, 
and we have a record of the movement at the end of last century 
of a body of six hundred thousand Kalmucks from Russia to thq 
confines of China. It would appear also that the Chinese came 
into China possessed of the resources of western Asian culture. 
They brought with them a knowledge of writing and astronomy 
as well as of the arts which primarily minister to the wants and 
comforts of mankind. 

According to one native authority, China, that is, the world 
was evolved out of chaos exactly 3,276,494 years ago. This 
evolution was brought about by the action of a First Cause or 
Force which separated into two principles, active and passive, 
male and female. Or as some native writers explain it, out of a 
great egg came a man. Out of the upper half of the egg he 
created the heavens and out of the lower half he created the 
earth. He created five elements, earth, water, fire, metal and 
wood. Out of the vapor from gold he created man and out of 
vapor from wood he created woman. Traditional pictures of 



CHINESE LEGENDS OF THE CREATION OF THE WORLD. 85 



tills first man and first woman represent them wearing for dress, 
girdles of fig leaves. He created the sun to rule the day, the 
moon to rule the night, and the stars. Those who care to go 
deeper into these traditions than the limits of this work permit 
will find ample material for interesting research in the analogies 
to Christian history. 

These principles, male 
and female, found their 
material embodiment in 
heaven and earth and 
became the father and 
mother of all things, be- 
ginning with man, who 
was immediately asso- 
ciated with them in a 
triumvirate of creative 
powers. Then ensued 
ten immense periods, 
the last of which has 
been made by some 
Chinese writers on 
chronology to end 
where every sober his- 
tory of China should 
begin, namely, with the 
establishment of the 
Chow dynasty eleven 
hundred years before 
the birth of Christ. 
During this almost im- 
measurable lapse of 
time, the process of 

development was going on, involving such discoveries as the pro- 
duction of fire, the construction of houses, boats and wheeled ve- 
hicles, the cultivation of grain, and mutual communication by 
means of writing. 

The father of Chinese history chose indeed to carry us back to 
the court of the Yellow Emperor, B. C. 2697, and to introduce 




CHINESE IDEA OF CREATION. 



36 



THE GOLDEN AGE OF CHINA, LONG AGO. 



as to his successors Yao and Shun and to the great Yu, who by 
his engineering skill had drained away a terrible inundation 
which some have sought to identify with Noah's flood. 

This flood was in Shun's reign. The waters we are told rose to 
so great a height that the people had to betake themselves to the 
mountains to escape death. Most of the provinces of the existing 
empire were inundated. The disaster arose, as many similar dis- 
asters, though of less magnitude, have since arisen, in consequence 
of the Yellow river bursting its bounds, and the great Yu was 
appointed to lead the waters back to their channel. With unre- 
mitting energy he set about his task, and in nine years succeeded 
in bringing the river under his control. During this period so 
absorbed was he in his work, that we are told he took heed neither 




EMPEROR SHUN PLOWING. 



of food nor clothing, and that thrice he passed the door of his 
house without once stopping to enter. At the completion of his 
labors he divided the empire into nine instead of twelve provinces, 
and tradition represents him as having engraved a record of his 
toils on a stone tablet on Mount Heng in the province of Hoopih. 
As a reward for the services he had rendered for the empire, he 
was invested with the principality of Hea, and after having 
occupied the throne conjointly with Shun for some years he suc- 
ceeded that sovereign on his death in 2308 B. C. 

But all these things were in China's " golden age," the true 
record of which is shrouded for us in the obscurity of centuries. 




VIEW FROM SUMMER PALACE, PEKING. 



BEGINNINGS OF AUTHENTIC CHINESE HISTORY. 39 

There were a few laws, but never any occasion to exact the 
penalties attached to misconduct. It was considered superfluous 
to close the house door at night, and no one would even pick up 
any lost property that lay in the high road. All was virtue, 
happiness and prosperity, the like of which has not since been 
known. The Emperor Shun was raised from the plow handle to 
the throne simply because of his filial piety, in recognition of 
which wild beasts used to come and voluntarily drag his plow for 
him through the furrowed fields, while birds of the air would 
hover round and guard his sprouting grain from the depredations 
of insects. 

This of course is not history ; and but little more can be said for 
the accounts given of the two dynasties which ruled China be- 
tween the "golden age " and the opening reigns of the House of 
Chow. The historian in question had not many sources of 
information at command. Beside tradition, of which he largely 
availed himself, the chief of these was the hundred chapters that 
had been edited by Confucius from the historical remains of those 
times, now known as the " Book of History." This contains an 
unquestionable foundation of facts, pointing to a comparatively 
advanced state of civilization, even so far back as two thousand 
years before our era ; but the picture is dimly seen and many of 
its details are of little practical value. This calculation declares 
that with Yu began the dynasty of Hea which gave place in 1766 
B. C. to the Shang dynasty. The last sovereign of the Hea line, 
Kieh Kwei, is said to have been a monster of iniquity and to have 
suffered the just punishment for his crimes at the hands of T'ang, 
the prince of the state of Shang, who took his throne from him. 
In like manner, six hundred and forty years later, Woo Wang, 
the prince of Chow, overthrew Chow Sin, the last of the Shang 
dynasty, and established himself as the chief of the sovereign 
state of the empire. 

It is only with the dynasty of the Chows that we begin to feel 
ourselves on safe ground, though long before that date the Chinese 
were undoubtedly enjoying a far higher civilization than fell to 
the share of most western nations until many centuries later. 
The art of writing had been already fully developed, having 
passed, if we are to believe native researches from an original sys- 



40 RISE OF THE DYNASTY OF CHOW. 

tern of knotted cords, through successive stages of notches on 
wood and rude outlines of natural objects down to the phonetic 
stage in which it exists at the present day. Astronomical obser- 
vations of a simple kind had been made and recorded and the 
year divided into months. The rite of marriage had been sub- 
stituted for capture ; and although cowries were still employed and 
remained in use until a much later date, metallic coins of various 
shapes and sizes began to be recognized as a more practicable 
medium of exchange. Music, both vocal and instrumental, was 
widely cultivated ; and a kind of solemn posturing filled the place 
that has been occu[)ied by dancing among nations farther to the 
west. Painting, charioteering and archery were reckoned among 
the fine arts; the crossbow especially being a favorite weapon 
either on the battle field or on the chase. The people seem to 
have lived upon rice and cabbage, pork and fish, much as they do 
now ; the}^ also drank the ardent spirit distilled from rice vulgarly 
known as " Samshoo " and clad themselves in silk, or their own 
coarse home stuffs according to the means of each. All this is 
previous to the dynasty of Chow with which it is now proposed to 
begin. 

The Chows rose to power over the vices of preceding rulers, 
aided by the genius of a certain duke or chieftain of the Chow 
state, though he personally never reached the imperial throne. 
It was his more famous son who in B. C. 1122 routed the forces 
of the last tyrant of the semi-legendary period and made himself 
master of China. The China of those days consisted of a number 
of petty principalities clustering round one central state and thus 
constituting a federation. The central state managed the common 
affairs, while each one had its own local laws and administration. 
It was in some senses a feudal age, somewhat similar to that 
which prevailed in Europe for many centuries. The various 
dukes were regarded as vassals owing allegiance to the sovereign 
at the head of the imperial state, and bound to assist him with 
money and men in case of need. And in order to keep together 
this mass, constantly in danger of disintegration from strifes 
within, the sovereigns of the House of Chow were forever 
summoning these vassal dukes to the capital and making tliem 
renew, with csremonies of sacrifice and potations of blood, their 



FORMATION OF THE EMPIRE. 41 

VOWS of loyalty and treaties of alliance. At a great feast held by 
Yu after his accession, there were, it is said, ten thousand princes 
present with their symbols of rank. But the feudal states were 
constantly being absorbed by one another. On the rise of the 
Shang dynasty there were only somewhat over three thousand, 
which had decreased to thirteen hundred when the sovereignty of 
the Chows was established. 

The senior duke always occupied a position somewhat closer 
to the sovereign than the others. It was his special business to 
protect the imperial territory from invasion by any malcontent 
vassal; and he was often deputed to punish acts of insubordina- 
tion and contumacy, relying for help on the sworn faith of all the 
states as a body against any individual recalcitrant. Such was 
the political condition of things through a long series of reigns 
for nearly nine centuries, the later history of this long and 
famous dynasty being simply the record of a struggle against the 
increasing power and ambitious designs of the vassal state of 
Ching, until at length the power of the latter not only outgrew 
that of the sovereign state, but successfully defied the united 
efforts of all the others combined together in a league. In 403 
B. C. tlie number of states had been reduced to seven great ones, 
all sooner or later claiming to be "the kingdom," and contending 
for the supremacy until Ching put down all the others and in 221 
B. C. its king assumed the title of Hwang Ti or emperor and 
determined that there should be no more feudal principalities, 
and that as there is but one sun in the sky there should be but 
one ruler in the nation. 

It is interesting to glance backward over these nine hundred 
years and gather some facts as to the China of those days. The 
religion of the Chinese was a modification of the older and sim- 
pler forms of nature worship practised by their ruder forefathers. 
The principal objects of veneration were still heaven and earth 
and the more prominent among the destructive and beneficient 
powers of nature. But a tide of personification and deification 
had begun to set in and to the spirits of natural objects and in- 
fluences now rapidly assuming material shape had been added the 
spirits of departed heroes whose protection was invoked after 
death by those to whom it had been afforded during life. 



42 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHOW DYNASTY. 



The sovereign of the Chow dynasty worshipped in a building 
which they called "the hall of light," which also served the pur- 
pose of an audience and council chamber. It was 112 feet square 
and surmounted by a dome; typical of heaven above and earth 
beneath. China has always been remarkably backward in 
architectural development, never having got beyond the familiar 
roof with its turned up corners, in which antiquaries trace a 




CHINESE TEMPLE. 



likeness to the tent of their nomad days. Hence it is that the 
" hall of light " of the Chows is considered by the Chinese to 
have been a very wonderful structure. 

Some have said that the Pentateuch was carried to China in 
the sixth century B. C, but no definite traces of Judaism are 
discoverable until several centuries later. 

The Chow period was pre-eminently one of ceremonial observ- 



CULTIVATION OF LITERATURE AND PROGRESS. 43 

ances pushed to an extreme limit. Even Confucius was unable 
to rise above the dead level of an ultra formal etiquette, which 
occupies in his teachings a place altogether out of proportion to 
any advantages likely to accrue from the most scrupulous com- 
pliance with its rules. During the early centuries of this period 
laws were excessively severe and punishments correspondingly 
barbarous ; mutilation and death by burning or diiissection being 
among the enumerated penalties. From all accounts there 
i^peedily occurred a marked degeneracy in the characters of the 
Chow kings. Among the most conspicuous of the early kings 
was Muh, who rendered himself notorious for having promulga- 
ted a penal code under which the redemption of punishments w as 
made permissible by the payment of fines. 

Notwithstanding the spirit of lawlessness that spread far and 
wide among the princes and nobles, creating misery and unrest 
throughout the country, that literary instinct which has been a 
marked characteristic of the Chinese throughout their long his- 
tory continued as active as ever. At stated intervals officials, we 
are told, were sent in light carriages into all parts of the empire 
to collect Avords from the changing dialects of each district ; and 
at the time of the royal progresses the official music masters and 
historiographers of each principality presented to the officials 
appointed for the purpose, collections of the odes and songs of 
each localit}^ in order, we are told, that the character of the rule 
exercised by their princes should be judged by the tone of the 
poetical and musical productions of their subjects. The odes and 
songs as found and thus collected were carefully preserved in 
royal archives, and it was from these materials, as is commonly 
believed, that Confucius compiled the celebrated *' She King " or 
'^ Book of Odes." 

One hundred years before the close of the Chow dynasty, a 
great statesman named Wei Yang appeared in the rising state of 
Ch'in and brought about many valuable reformations. Among 
other things he introduced a system of tithings, which has en- 
dured to the present day. The unit of Chinese social life has 
always been the family and not tlie individual ; and this states- 
man caused the family to be divided into groups of ten families 
to each, upon a basis of mutual protection and responsibility. 
8 



44 THE CHINESE THREE THOUSAND YEARS AGO. 

The soil of China has always been guarded as the inalienable 
property of her imperial ruler for the time being, held in trust by 
him on behalf of a higher and greater power whose vice-regent 
he is. In the age of the Chows, land appears to have been culti- 
vated upon a system of communal tenure, one-ninth of the total 
produce being devoted in all cases to the expenses of government 
and the maintenance of the ruling family in each state. Copper 
coins of a uniform shape and portable size were first cast, accord- 
ing to Chinese writers, about half way through the sixth century 
B. C. An irregular form of money, however, had been in circu- 
lation long before, one of the early vassal dukes having been 
advised, in order to replenish his treasury, to " break up the hills 
and make money out of the metal therein ; to evaporate sea 
water and make salt. This," added his advising minister, " will 
benefit the realm and with the profits you may buy up all kinds 
of goods cheap and store them until the market has risen ; estab- 
lish also three hundred depots of courtesans for the traders, who 
will thereby be induced to bring all kinds of merchandise to your 
country. This merchandise you will tax and thus have a suffici- 
ency of funds to meet the expenses of your army." Such were 
some of the principles of finance and political economy among 
the Chows, customs duties being apparently even at that early 
date a recognized part of the revenue. 

The art of healing was practised among the Chinese in their 
prehistoric times, but the first quasi-scientific efforts of which we 
have any record belong to the period with which we are now 
dealing. The physicians of the Chow dynasty classify diseases 
under the four seasons of the year — headaches and neuralgic 
affections under spring, skin diseases of all kinds under summer, 
fever and agues under autumn, and bronchial and plumonary 
complaints under winter. The public at large was warned against 
rashly swallowing the prescriptions of any physician whose family 
had not been three generations in the medical profession. 

When the Chows went into battle they formed a line with the 
bowman on the left and the spearman on the right flank. The 
centre was occupied by chariots, each drawn by three or four 
horses harnessed abreast. Swords, daggers, shields, iron headed 
clubs, huge iron hooks, drums, cymbals, gongs, horns, banners and 



MUSIC, SLAVERY, HOUSEHOLD HABITS. 45 

Streamers innumerable were also among the equipment of war. 
Quarter was rarely if ever given and it was customary to cut the 
ears from the bodies of the slain. 

It was under the Chows, a thousand years before Christ, that 
the people of China began to possess family names. By the time 
of Confucius the use of surnames had become definitely estab- 
lished for all classes. The Chows founded a universitj^ a shadow 
of which remains to the present day. They seem to have had 
theatrical representations of some kind, though it is difficult to 
say of what nature these actually were. Music must have already 
reached a stage of considerable development, if we are to believe 
Confucius himself, who has left it on record that after listening 
to a certain melody he was so affected as not to be able to taste 
meat for three months. 

Slavery was at this date a regular domestic institution and was 
not confined as now to the purchase of women alone ; and whereas 
in still earlier ages it had been usual to bury wooden puppets in 
the tombs of princes, we now read of slave boys and slave girls 
barbarously interred alive with the body of every ruler of a state, 
in order, as was believed, to wait upon the tyrant's spirit after 
death. But public opinion began during the Confucian era to 
discountenance this savage rite, and the son of a man who left 
instructions that he should be buried in a large coffin between 
two of his concubines, ventured to disobey his father's commands. 

We know that the Chows sat on chairs while all other eastern 
nations were sitting on the ground, and ate their food and drank 
their wine from tables ; that they slept on beds and rode on horse- 
back. They measured the hours with the aid of sun dials ; and 
the invention of the compass is attributed, though on somewhat 
insufficient grounds, to one of their earliest heroes. They played 
games of calculation of an abstruse character, and others involving 
dexterity. They appear to have worn shoes of leather, and stock- 
ings, and hats, and caps, in addition to robes of silk ; and to have 
possessed such other material luxuries as fans, mirrors of metal, 
bath tubs, and flat irons. But it is often difficult to separate 
truth from falsehood in the statement of Chinese writers with re- 
gard to their history. They are fond of exaggerating the civiliza- 
tion of their forefathers, which, as a matter of fact, was sufficiently 



46 



CONFUCIUS AND HIS WORK. 



advanced to command admiration without the undesirable coloring 
of fiction they have thus been tempted to lay on. 

Of the religions of the Chinese we will speak in a succeeding 
chapter, but it must be said here that during the Chow dynasty 
was born the most famous of Chinese teachers, Confucius. He 
was preceded about the middle of the dynasty by Lao-tzu, the 
founder of an abstruse system of ethical philosophy which was 

destined to develop into 
the Taoism of to-da3^ 
Closely following, and 
partially a contemporary, 
came Confucius," a teacher 
who has been equalled in 
his influence upon masses 
of the human race by Bud- 
dha alone and approached 
only by Mahomet and 
Christ." Confucius de- 
voted his life chiefly to 
the moral amelioration of 
his fellow men by oral 
teaching, but he was also 
an author of many works. 
A hundred years later 
came Mencius, the record 
of whose teachings also 
forms an important part 
of the course of study of a 
modern student in China. 
His pet theory was that 
the nature of man is good, 
and that all evil tendencies are necessarily acquired from evil 
communications either by heredity or association. It was during 
this same period that the literature of the Chinese language was 
founded. Of this subject, and some of the famous works, more 
will be said in a succeeding chapter devoted to literature and 
education. 

In their campaign against the prevailing lawlessness and 




IMAGE OF CONFUCIUS. 




MANCHURIAN MINISTERS. 



WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS DOING. 49 

violence, neither Confucius nor Mencius was able to make any 
headway. Their preachings fell on deaf ears and their peaceful 
admonitions were passed unheeded by men who held their fiefs 
by the strength of their right arms, and administered the affairs 
of their principalities surrounded by the din of war. The feudal 
system and the dynasty of the Chows were tottering when Con- 
fucius died although it was more than two hundred years after 
when Ch'in acquired the supremacy. 

The nine centuries covered by the history of the Chow^s were 
full of stirring incidents in other parts of the world. The Trojan 
war had just been brought to an end and ^neas had taken refuge 
in Italy from the sack of Troy. Early in the dynasty Zoroaster 
was founding in Persia the religion of the Magi, the worship of 
fire which survives in tlie Parseeism of Bombay. Saul was made 
king of Israel and Solomon built the temple of Jerusalem. Later 
on Lycurgus gave laws to the Spartans and Romulus laid the first 
stone of the Eternal City. Then came tlie Babylonic captivity, 
the appearance of Buddha, the conquest of Asia Minor by Cyrus, 
the rise of the Roman Republic, the defeats of Darius at Marathon 
and of Xerxes at Salamis, the Peloponnesian War, the retreat of 
the Ten Thousand, and Roman conquests down to the end of the 
first Punic war. From a literary point of view the Chow dynasty 
was the age of the Vedas in India ; of Homer, ^schylus, Herod- 
otus, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Aristotle and Demosthenes in 
Greece ; and of the Jewish prophets from Samuel to Daniel ; and 
of the Talmud as originally undertaken by the scribes subsequent 
to the return from the captivity in Babylon. 

It has been stated that the imperial rule of the Chows over the 
vassal states which made up the China of those early days, was 
gradually undermined by the growing power and influence of one 
of the latter, the very name of which was transformed into a by- 
word of reproach, so that to call a person '* a man of Ch'in" was 
equivalent to saying in vulgar parlance, " He is no friend of 
mine." The struggle between the Ch'ins and the rest of the 
empire may be likened to the struggle between Athens and the 
rest of Greece though the end in each case was not the same. 
The state of Ch'in vanquished its combined opponents, and finally 
established a dynasty, shortlived indeed, but containing among 



50 



THE FIRST EMPEROR OF CHINA. 



the few rulers who sat upon the tlirone, only about fifty years in 
all, the name of one remarkable man, the first emperor of the 
united China. 

On the ruins of the old feudal system, the landmarks of which 
his three or four predecessors had succeeded in sweeping away, 
Hwang Ti laid the foundations of a coherent empire which was 




GREAT WALL OP CHINA. 

to date from himself as its founder. He sent an army of 300,000 
men to fight against the Huns. He dispatched a fleet to search 
for some mysterious islands off the coast of China ; and this ex- 
pedition has since been connected with the colonization of Japan. 
He built the Great Wall which is nearly fourteen hundred miles in 
length, forming the most prominent artificial object on the surface 



THE BURNING OF THE BOOKS. SI 

of the earth. His copper coinage was so uniformly good that the 
cowry disappeared altogether from commerce with this reign. Ac- 
cording to some, the modern hair pencil employed by the Chinese 
as a pen was invented about this time, to be used for writing o!i 
silk; while the characters themselves underwent certain modifi- 
cations and orthographical improvements. The first emperor de- 
sired above all things to impart a fresh stimulus to literary effort ; 
but he adopted singularly unfortunate means to secure this de- 
sirable end. For listening to the insidious flattery of courtiers, he 
determined that literature should begin anew with his reign. He 
therefore issued orders for the destruction of all existing books, 
with the exception of works treating of medicine, agriculture and 
divination and the annals of his own house ; and he actually put 
to death many hundreds of the literati who refused to comply 
with these commands. Tlie decree was obeyed as faithfully as 
was possible in case of so sweeping an ordinance and for many 
years a night of ignorance rested on the country. Numbers of 
valuable works thus perished in a general literary conflagration, 
popularly known as " the burning of the books ; " and it is partly 
to accident and partly to the pious efforts of the scholars of the 
age, that posterity is indebted for the preservation of the most 
precious relics of ancient Chinese literature. The death of Hwang 
Ti was the signal for an outbreak among the dispossessed feudal 
princes, who, however, after some years of disorder, were again 
reduced to the rank of citizens by a successful peasant leader who 
adopted the title of Kaou Ti, and named his dynasty that of Han, 
with himself its first emperor. 

From that day to this, with occasional interregnums, the empire 
has been ruled on the lines laid down by Hwang Ti. Dynasty 
has succeeded dynasty but the political tradition has remained un- 
changed, and though Mongols and Manchoos have at different 
times wrested the throne from its legitimate heirs, they have been 
engulfed in a homogeneous mass inhabiting the empire, and in- 
stead of impressing their seal upon the country, have become but 
the reflection of the vanquished. The stately House of Han ruled 
over China for four hundred years, approximately from 200 B. C. 
to 200 A. D. During the whole period the empire made vast 
strides towards a more settled state of prosperity and civilization, 



52 



HISTORY OF THE HAN DYNASTY. 



although there were constant wars with the Tartar tribes to the 
north and the various Turkish tribes on the west. The communi- 
cations with the Huns were particuhirly close, and even now 
traces of Hunnish influence are discernible in several of the 
recognized surnames of the Chinese. This dynasty also wit- 
nessed the spectacle, most unusual in the east, of a woman 
wielding the imperial sceptre ; and hers was not a reign calcu- 
lated to inspire the people of China with much faith either in the 

virtue or the administrative 
ability of the sex. In Chinese 
history however, her place is 
that of the only female sover- 
eign who ever legitimately 
occupied the throne. 

It was under the Han 
dynasty that the religion of 
Buddha first became known 
to the Chinese people, and 
Taoism began to develop 
from quiet philosophy to 
foolish superstitions and 
practices. It was also dur- 
ing this period that the Jews 
appear to have founded a 
colony in Honan, but we 
cannot say what kind of a 
reception was accorded to 
the new faith. In the glow 
of early Buddhism, and in 
the exciting times of its subsequent persecution, it is probable 
that Judaism failed to attract much serious attention from the 
Chinese. In 1850 certain Hebrew rolls were recovered from the 
few remaining descendants of former Jews ; but there was then 
no one left who could read a word of them, or who possessed any 
knowledge of the creed of their forefathers, beyond a few^ tradi- 
tions of the scantiest possible kind. 

But the most remarkable of all events connected with our 
present period, was the general revival of learning and author- 




BUDDHTST PRIEST. 



FAMOUS MEN OF THIS PERIOD. 63 

ship. The Confucian texts were rescued from hiding places in 
whiclj they had. been concealed at the risk of death ; editing com- 
mittees were appointed, and immense efforts made to repair the 
mischief sustained by literature at the hand of the first emperor. 
Ink and paper were invented and authorship was thus enabled to 
make a fresh start, the very start indeed, that the first emperor 
had longed to associate witli his own reign, and had attempted to 
secure by such impracticable means. During the latter portion 
of the second century B. C, flourished the ^' Father of Chinese 
History." His great work, which has been the model for all sub- 
sequent histories, is divided into one hundred and thirty books, 
and deals with a period extending from the reign of the Yellow 
emperor down to his own times. In another branch of literature, 
a foremost place among the lexicographers of the world may 
fairly be claimed for Hsu Slien, the author of a famous dic- 
tionary. Many other celebrated writers lived and prospered dur- 
ing the Han dynasty. One man whose name must be mentioned 
insured for himself, by his virtue and integrity, a more imper- 
ishable fame than any mere literary achievement could bestow. 
Yang Chen was indeed a scholar of no mean attainments, and 
away in his occidental home he was known as the "Confucius 
of the west." An officer of government in a high position, 
with every means of obtaining wealth at his command, he lived 
and died in comparative poverty, his only object of ambition being 
the reputation of a spotless official. The Yangs of his day grum- 
bled sorely at opportunities thus thrown away ; but the Yangs of 
to-day glory in the fame of their great ancestor and are proud to 
worship in the ancestral hall to which his uprightness has be- 
queatlied the name. For once when pressed to receive a bribe, 
with the additional inducement that no one would know of the 
transaction, he quietly replied — " How so ? Heaven would know ; 
earth would know; you would know and I should know." And 
to this hour the ancestral shrine of the clan of the Yangs bears 
as it name "The Hall of the Four Knows." 

It was in all probability under the dynasty of the Hans that 
the drama first took its place among the amusements of the 
people. 

It i^ unnecessary to linger over the four centuries which con- 



54 ADVANCE m THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD. 

nect the Hans with the T'aiigs. There was not in them lliat dis- 
tinctness of character or coherency of aim which leave a great 
impress upon the times. The three kingdoms passed rapidly 
awaj^ and other small dynasties succeeded them, but their names 
and dates are not essential to a right comprehension of the state 
of China then or now. A few points may, however, be briefly 
mentioned before quitting this period of transition. Diplomatic 
relations were opened with Japan ; and Christianity was intro- 
duced b}^ the Nestorians under the title of the "luminous teach- 
ing." Tea was not known in China before this date. It was at 
the close of this transitional period that we first detect traces of 
the art of printing, still in an embryonic state, and it seems to be 
quite certain that before the end of the sixth centurj^ the Chinese 
were in possession of a method of reproduction from wooden 
blocks. One of the last emperors of the period succeeded in 
adding largely to the empire by annexation toward the west. 
Embassies reached his court from various nations, including 
Japan and Cochin China, and helped to add to the lustre of his 
reign. 

The three centuries A. D. 600-900, during which the T'angs 
sat upon the throne, form a brilliant epoch in Chinese history, 
and the southern people of China are still proud of the designa- 
tion which has descended to them as " men of T'ang." Emperor 
Hsuan Tsung fought against the prevailing extravagance in 
dress; founded a large dramatic college; and was an enthusias- 
tic patron of literature. Buddhism flourished during this period 
in spite of edicts against it. Finally, it gained the favor of the 
emperors and for a time overpowered even Confucianism. It 
was during the reign of the second emperor of the T'angs and 
only six years after the Hegira that the religion of Mahomet first 
reached the shores of China. A maternal uncle of the prophet 
visited the country and obtained permission to build a mosque 
at Canton, portions of which may perhaps still be found in the 
thrice restored structure which now stands upon its site. The 
use of paper money was first introduced by the government 
toward the closing years of the dynasty ; and it is near to this 
time that we can trace back the existence of the modern court 



PAPER MONEY AND PRINTING. 55 

circular and daily record of edicts, memorials, etc., commonly 
known as the Peking Gazette. 

Another unimportant transition period, sixty years in duration, 
forms the connecting link between the houses of T'ang and 
Sung. It is known in Chinese history as the period of the five 
dynasties, after the five short-lived ones crowded into this space 
of time. It is remarkable chiefly for the more extended practice 
of printing from wooden blocks, the standard classical works 
being now for the first time printed in this way. The discredit- 
able custom of cramping women's feet into the so-called " golden 
lilies " belongs probably to this date, though referred by some to 
a period several hundred years later. 

It has been said before that the age of the T'angs was the age 
of Mahomet and his new religion, the propagation of which was 
destined to meet in the west with a fatal check from the arms of 
Charles Martel at the battle of Tours. It was the age of Rome 
independent under her early popes; of Charlemagne as emperor 
of the west; of Egbert as first king of England ; and of Alfred 
the Great. 

The Sung dynasty extended from about A. D. 960 to 1280. 
The first portion of this dynasty may be considered as on the 
whole, one of the most prosperous and peaceable periods of the 
history of China. The nation had already in a great measure 
settled down to that state of material civilization and mental 
culture in which it may be said to have been discovered by 
Europeans a few centuries later. To the appliances of Chinese 
ordinary life it is probable that but few additions have been made 
even since a much earlier date. The national costume has indeed 
undergone subsequent variations, and at least one striking 
change has been introduced in later years, that is, the tail, which 
will be mentioned later. But the plows and hoes, the water 
wheels and well sweeps, the tools of artisans, mud huts, junks, 
carts, chairs, tables, chopsticks, etc., which we still see in China, 
are doubtless approximately those of more than two thousand 
years ago. Mencius observed that the written language was 
the same, and axle-trees of the same length all over the empire ; 
and to this day an unaltering uniformity is one of the chief char- 
acteristics of the Chinese people in every department of life. 



56 INVASIONS OF THE TARTARS AND MONGOLS. 

The house of Sung was not however without the usual troubles 
for any length of time. Periodical revolts are tlie special feature 
of Chinese history, and the Sungs were hardly exempt from them 
in a greater degree than other dynasties. The Tartars too, were 
forever encroaching upon Chinese territory and finally overran 
and occupied a large part of northern China. This resulted in an 
amicable arrangement to divide the empire, the Tartars retaining 
their conquests in the north. Less than a hundred years later 
came the invasion of the Mongols under Genghis Khan, with the 
long struggle which eventuated in a complete overthrow of both 
the Tartars and the Sungs and the final establishment of the 
Mongol dynasty under Kublai Khan, whose success was in a 
great measure due to the military capacity of his famous lieuten- 
ant Bayan. From this struggle one name in particular has sur- 
vived to form a landmark of which the Chinese are justly proud. 
It is that of the patriot statesman Wen T'ien-hsiang, whose 
fidelity to the Sungs no defeats could shake, no promises under- 
mine ; and who perished miserably in the hands of the enemy 
rather than abjure the loyalty which had been the pride and 
almost the object of his existence. 

Another name inseparably connected with the history of the 
Sungs is that of Wang An-shih who has been styled " The Inno- 
vator " from the gigantic administrative changes or innovations 
he labored ineffectually to introduce. The chief of these were a 
universal system of militia under which the whole body of citizens 
were liable to military drill and to be called out for service in 
time of need ; and a system of state loans to agriculturists in order 
to supply capital for more extensive and more remunerative farm- 
ing operations. His schemes were ultimately set aside through the 
opposition of a statesman whose name is connected even more closely 
with literature than with politics. SsumaKuang spent nineteen 
years of his life in the compilation of " The Mirror of History," a 
history of China in two hundred and ninety-four books, from the 
earliest times of the Chow dynast}^ down to the accession of the 
house of Sung. 

A century later this lengthy production was recast in a 
greatly condensed form under the superintendence of Chu Hsi, 
the latter work at once taking rank as the standard history 




-^ ■ M- — - 



,- <^ *■_- «»-<;• 



CHINESE ARCHERS. 



LITERARY WORK OF THE SUNG DYNASTY. 



59 



of China to that date. Chu Hsi himself played in other ways 
by far the most important part among all the literary giants of 
the Sungs. Besides holding, during a large portion of his life, 
liigh official position*, with an almost unqualified success, his 
writings are more extensive and more varied in character than 
those of any other Chinese author ; and the complete collection 




CHINESE WRITER. 



of his great philosophical works, published in 1713, fills no fewer 
than sixty-six books. He introduced interpretations of the Con- 
fucian classics, either wholly or partially at variance with those 
which had been put forth by the scholars of the Han dynasty 
and received as infallible ever since, thus modifj'ing to a certain 
extent the prevailing standard of political and social morality. 



60 A FAMOUS CHINESE POET. 

His principle was simply one of consistency. He refused to in- 
terpret certain words in a given passage in one sense and the 
same words occurring elsewhere in another sense. And this 
principle recommended itself at once to the highly logical 
mind of the Chinese. Chu Hsi's commentaries were received 
to the exclusion of all others and still form the only author- 
ized interpretation of the classical books, upon a knowledge of 
which all success at the great competitive exaniination for 
literary degrees may be said to entirely depend. 

It would be a lengthy task to merej^y enumerate the names in 
the great phalanx of writers who flourished under the Sungs and 
who formed an Augustan Age of Chinese literature. Exception 
must however be made in favor of Ou-Yang Hsiu, who besides 
being an eminent statesman, was a voluminous historian of the 
immediately preceding dynasties, an essayist of rare ability, and a 
poet ; and of Su Tung-p'o whose name next to that of Chu Hsi 
fills the largest place in Chinese memorials of this period. A 
vigorous opponent of " The Innovator," he suffered banishment 
for his opposition ; and again, after his rival's fall, he was similarly 
punished for further crossing the imperial will. PJis exile 
was shared by the beautiful and accomplished girl " Morning 
Clouds," to whose inspiration we owe many of the elaborate 
poems and other productions in the composition of which the 
banished poet beguiled his time ; and whose untimely death of 
consumption, on the banks of their favorite lake, hastened the poet's 
end, which occurred shortly after his recall from banishment. 

Buddhism and Taoism had by this time made advances toward 
tacit terms of mutual toleration. They wisely agreed to share 
rather than to quarrel over the carcass which lay at their feet ; 
and from that date they have flourished together without prejudice. 

The system of competitive examinations and literary degrees 
had been still more fully elaborated, and the famous child's primer, 
the " Three Character Classic," which is even now the first step- 
ping stone to knowledge, had been placed in the hands of school 
boys. The surnames of the people were collected to the number 
of four hundred and thirty-eight in all; and although this was 
admittedly not complete, the great majority of those names which 
were omitted, once perhaps in common use, have altogether disap- 



LITERATURE, LAW, AND MEDICINE. 61 

peared. It is comparatively rare nowadays to meet with a person 
whose family name is not to be found within the limits of this 
small collection. Administration of justice is said to have flour- 
ished under the incorrupt officials of this dynasty. The func- 
tions of magistrates were more fully defined; while the study 
of medical jurisprudence was stimulated by the publication of a 
volume which, although combining the maximum of superstition 
with the minimum of scientific research, is still the officially 
recognized text book on all subjects connected with murder, 
suicide and accidental death. Medicine and the art of healing 
came in for a considerable share of attention at the hands of the 
Sungs and many voluminous works on therapeutics have come 
down to us from this period. Inoculation for small pox has been 
known to the Chinese at least since the early years of this 
dynasty if not earlier. 

The irruption of the Mongols under Genghis Khan, and the 
comparatively short dynasty which was later on actually estab- 
lished under Kublai Khan, may be regarded as the period of 
transition from the epoch of the Sungs to the epoch of the Mings. 
For the first eighty years after the nominal accession of Genghis 
Khan the empire was more or less in a state of siege and martial 
law from one end to the other ; and then in less than one hundred 
years afterwards the Mongol dynasty had passed away. The 
story of Ser Marco Polo and his wonderful travels, familiar to 
most readers, gives us a valuable insight into this period of brill- 
iant courts, thronged marts, fine cities, and great national wealth. 

At this date the literary glory of the Sungs had hardly begun 
to grow dim. Ma Tuan-lin carried on his voluminous work 
through all the troublous times, and at his death bequeathed to 
the world *' The Antiquarian Researches," in three hundred and 
forty-eight books, which have made his name famous to every 
student of Chinese literature. Plane aiid spherical trigonometry 
were both known to the Chinese by this time, and mathematics 
generally began to receive a larger share of the attention of 
scholars. It was also under the Mongol dynasty that the novel 
first made its appearance, a fact pointing to a definite social ad- 
vancement, if only in the direction of luxurious reading. Among 



62 KUBLAI KHAN AND HIS REIGN. 

other points may be mentioned a great influx of Mohammedans, 
and consequent spread of their religion about tlii.s time. 

The Grand Canal was completed by Kublni Khan, and thus 
Cambaluc, the Peking of those days, was united by inland water 
communication with the extreme south of China. The work 
seems to have been begun by the Emperor Yang Ti seven cen- 
turies previously, but the greater part of the undertaking was 
done in the reign of Kublai Khan. Hardly so successful was the 
same emperor's huge naval expedition against Japan, which in 
point of number of ships and men, the insular character of the 
enemy's country, the chastisement intended, and the total loss of 
the fleet in a storm, aided by the stubborn resistance of the Jap- 
anese themselves, suggests a very obvious comparison with the 
object and fate of the Spanish Armada. 

The age of the Sungs carries us from a hundred years previous 
to the Norman Conquest down to about the death of Ed\vard III. 
It was the epoch of Venetian commerce and maritime supremacy ; 
and of the first great lights in Italian literature, Dante, Petrarch 
and Boccacio. English, French, German and Spanish literature 
had yet to develop, only one or two of the earlier writers, such 
as Chaucer, having yet appeared on the scene. 

The founder of the Ming dynasty rose from starvation and ob- 
scurit}^ to occupy the throne of the Chinese empire. In his youth 
he sought refuge from the pangs of hunger in a Buddhist monas- 
tery ; later on he became a soldier of fortune, and joined the 
ranks of the insurgents who were endeavoring to shake off the 
alien yoke of the Mongols. His own great abilities carried him 
on. He speedily obtained the leadership of a large army, with 
which he totally destroyed the power of the Mongols, and finally 
established a new Chinese dynasty over the thirteen provinces 
into which the empire was divided. He fixed his capitol at Nan- 
king, where it remained until the accession of the third emperor, 
the conqueror of Cochin China and Tonquin, who transferred the 
seat of government back to Peking, the capitol of the Mongols, 
from which it has never since been removed. 

For nearly three hundred years, from 1370 to 1650, the Mings 
swayed the destinies of China. Their rule was not one of unin- 
terrupted peace, either within or without tlie empire ; but it was 



o 

X 

in 

PI 

n 
> 

2: 

o 

■5 

:/3 




FOUNDING THE MING DYNASTY. 



65 



on the whole a wise and popular rule, and the period which it 
covers is otherwise notable for immense literary activity and for 
considerable refinement in manners and material civilization. 

From without, the Mings were constantly harrassed by the 
encroachments of the Tartars; while from within the ceaseless 
intriguing of the eunuchs was a fertile cause of trouble. 

Chief among the literary achievements of this period, is the 




ANCIENT CHINESE ARCH. 

gigantic encyclopedia in over twenty-two thousand books, only 
one copy of which, and that imperfect, has survived out of the 
four that were originally made. Allowing fifty octavo pages to 
a book, the result would be a total of at least one million one 
hundred thousand pages, the index alone occupying no fewer 
than three thousand pages. This wonderful work is now probably 
rotting, if not already rotted beyond hope of preservation, in 



66 A CHINESE EMPEROR'S PRIVATE LIBRARY. 

some damp corner of the imperial palace at Peking. Another im 
portant and more accessible production was the so-called " Chinese 
Herbal." This was a compilation from the writings of no fewer 
than eight hundred preceding writers on botany, mineralogy, 
entomology, etc., the whole forming a voluminous but unsci- 
entific book of reference on the natural history of China. 
Shortly after the accession of the third emperor, Yung Lo, the 
imperial library was estimated to contain written and printed 
works amounting to a total of about one million in all, A book 
is a variable quantity in Chinese literature, both as regards num- 
ber and size of pages ; the number of books to a work also vary 
from one to several hundred. But reckoning fifty pages to a book 
and twenty or twenty-five books to a work, it will be seen that 
the collection was not an unworthy private library for any em- 
peror in the early years of the fifteenth century. 

The overthrow of the Mings was brought about by a combina- 
tion of events of the utmost importance to those who would un- 
derstand the present position of the Tartars as rulers of China. 
A sudden rebellion had resulted in the capture of Peking by the 
insurgents, and in the suicide of the emperor who was fated to be 
the last of his line. The imperial commander-in chief, Wu San- 
kuei, at that time away on the frontiers of Manchooria engaged in 
resisting the incursions of the Manchoo-Tartars, now for a long 
time in a state of ferment, immediately hurried back to the 
capitol but was totally defeated by the in.^urgent leader and once 
more made his way, this time as a fugitive and a suppliant, toward 
the Tartar camp. Here he obtained promises of assistance 
chiefly on condition that he would shave his head and grow a tail 
in accordance with Manchoo custom, and again set off with his 
new auxilliaries toward Peking, being reinforced on the way by a 
body of Mongol volunteers. As things turned out, the com- 
mander arrived in Peking in advance of these allies, and actually 
succeeded with the remnant of his own scattered forces in routing 
the troups of the rebel leader before the Tartars and the Mon- 
gols came up. He then started in pursuit of the flying foe. 
Meanwhile the Tartar contingent arrived and on entering the 
capitol the young Manchoo prince in command was invited by tlie 
people of Peking to ascend the vacant throne. So that by the 



FOUNDING OF THE PRESE^NT RULING DYNASTY. 67 

time Wu San-kuei reappeared, he found a new dynasty already 
established and his late Manchoo ally at the head of affairs. His 
first intention had doubtless been to continue the Ming line of 
emperors ; but he seems to have readily fallen in with the arrange- 
ment already made and to have tendered his formal allegiance on 
the four following conditions : 

That no Chinese woman should be taken into the imperial se- 
raglio ; that the first place at the great triennial examination for 
the highest literary degrees should never be given to a Tartar ; 
that the people should adopt the national costume of the Tartars 
in their everyday life ; but that they should be allowed to bury 
their corpses in the dress of the late dynasty ; that this condition 
of costume should not apply to the women of China who were not 
to be compelled either to wear the hair in a tail before marriage 
as the Tartar girls do, or to abandon the custom of compressing 
their feet. 

The great Ming dynasty was now at an end, though not destined 
wholly to pass away. A large part of it may be said to remain 
in the literary monuments. The dress of the period survives 
upon the modern Chinese stage ; and when occasionally the alien 
yoke has galled, seditious whispers of " restoration " are not al- 
together unheard. Secret societies have always been dreaded and 
prohibited by the government; and of these none more so than 
the famous *' Triad Society," in which heaven, earth, and man are 
supposed to be associated in close alliance, and whose watchword 
is believed to embody some secret allusion to the downfall of the 
present dynasty. 

In the latter part of the sixteenth century, the civilization of 
western Europe began to make itself felt in China by the advent 
of the Portuguese, and this matter will be returned to in the fol- 
lowing chapter. 

In other parts of the world, eventful times have set in. In 
England we are brought from the accession of Richard II. down 
to the struggle between the king and the commons and the ulti- 
mate establishment of the commonwealth. We have Henry IV. 
in France and Ferdinand and Isabella in Spain. In England, 
Shakspeare and Bacon; in France, Rabelais and Descartes; in 
Germany, Luther and Copernicus ; in Spain, Cervantes ; and in 



68 IN OTHER PAKTS OF THE WORLD. 

Italy, Galileo, Machiavelli andTasso; these names to which should 
be added those of the great explorers, Columbus and Vasoo de 
Gama, serve to remind one of what was meanwhile passing in the 
west. 



o 
w 

m 

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o 
o 
o 

I— I 



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FROM FIRST CONTACT WITH EUROPEAN CIVILIZA- 
TION TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR. 



How the Western Nations Formed the Acquaintance of China— First Mention of the 
Orient by Grecian and Roman Historians— Introduction of Judaism— Nestorian Missionaries 
Bring Christianity— Marco Polo's Wonderful Journey— Roman Missionaries in the Field— 
Dissentions among Christians Discredit their Work— Work of the Jesuits— The Dynasty of 
the Chings— Splendid Literary Labors of Two Emperors— Englands First Embassy to 
China— The Opium War— Opening the Ports of China— Treaties with Western Nations— The 
Tai-Ping Rebellion— The Later Years of Chinese History. 

The works of several Greek and Roman historians, principally 
those of Ptolemy and Arian, who lived in the second centurj-, 
contain references of a vague character to a country now generallj^ 
believed to be China. Ptolemy states that his information came 
from the agents of Macedonian traders, who gave him an account 
of a journey of seven months from the principal city of eastern 
Turkestan, in a direction east inclining a little south. It is 
probable that these agents belonged to some of the Tartar tribes 
of Central Asia. They represented the name of this most eastern 
nation to be Serica, and that on the borders of this kingdom they 
met and traded with its inhabitants, the Seres. Herodotus speaks 
of the Isadores as a people in the extreme north-east of Asia. 
Ptolemy also mentions these tribes as a part of Serica and under 
its sway. Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman historian of the 
fourth century, speaks of the land of the Seres as surrounded by 
a high and continuous w^all. This was about six hundred years 
after the great wall of northern China was built. Virgil, Pliny, 
Ricitus and Juvenal refer to the Seres in connection with the 
Seric garments which seem to have been made of fine silk or 
gauze. This article of dress was much sought after in Rome by 
the wealthy and luxurious, and as late as the second century, is 
said to have been worth its weight in gold. From the length and 
description of the route of the traders, the description of the 
mountains and rivers which they passed, the character of the 
people with whom they traded and the articles of traffic, the evi- 
dence seems almost conclusive that the nation which the Greeks 
and Romans designated by the name of Serica is that now known 

(71) 



72 INTERCOURSE WITH WESTERN NATIONS. 

to us as China. The particuhir coimtries visited by the caravans 
which brought the silk to Europe, were probably the dependencies 
or territories of China on the west, or possibly cities within the 
extreme north-west limit of China proper. 

The introduction of Judaism into China is evidenced by a 
Jewish synagogue which existed until quite recently in Kai-fung- 
foo, a city in the province of Hon an. Connected with this 
synagogue were some Hebrew manuscripts, and a few worshippers 
who retained some of the forms of their religion, but very little 
knowledge of its real character and spirit. There is a great deal 
of uncertainty as to when the Jews came to China, though they 
have, no doubt, resided there for many centuries. 

Nestorian missionaries entered China some time before the 
seventh century. The principal record which they have left of 
the success of their missions is the celebrated Nestorian monu- 
ment in Fen-gan-foo. This monument contains a short history of 
the sect from the year 630 to 781, and also an abstract of the 
Christian religion. The missionaries of this sect have left but few 
records of their labors or of their observations as travelers, but 
the churches planted by them seem to have existed until a com- 
paratively recent period. The Romish missionaries who entered 
China in the beginning of the fourteenth century, found them 
possessed of considerable influence, not only among the people, 
but also at court, and met with no little opposition from them in 
their first attempts to introduce the doctrines of their church. It 
seems to be true that during the period of nearly eight hundred 
years in which Nestorian Christianity maintained its foothold in 
China, large numbers of converts were made. But in process of 
time the Nestorian churches departed widely from their first 
teachings. After the fall of the Mongolian empire they were cut 
off from connection with the west, and not having sufficient 
vitality to resist the adverse influences of heathenism the people 
by degrees relapsed into idolatry or took up the new faiths that 
were introduced. 

The first western writer, whose works are extant, who has given 
anything like full and explicit explanation respecting China is 
Ser Marco Polo. He went to China in the year 1274, in company 
with his father and uncle, who were Venetian noblemen. At this 



SER MARCO POLO'S JOURNEY TO CHINA. 73 

time, tbe independent nomad tribes of central Asia being united 
in one government, it was practicable to reach eastern Asia by 
passing through the Mongolian empire. Marco Polo spent 
twenty-four years in China, and seems to have been treated 
kindly and hospitably. After his return to Europe he was taken 
prisoner in a war with the Genoese, and during his confinement 
wrote an account of his travels. The description he gives of the 
vast territories of China, its teeming population, and flourishing 
cities, the refinement and civilization of its people, and their 
curious customs, seemed to his countrymen more like a fiction of 
fairyland than sober and authentic narrative. It is said that he 
was urged when on his death bed to retract these statements and 
make confession of falsehood, which he refused to do. He was 
undoubtedly one of the most remarkable travelers of any age. 

During the period of the Mongolian empire which compre- 
hended under its sway the greater part of Asia from China on the 
east to the Mediterranean on the west, an intense desire was 
kindled in the Roman church to convert this powerful nation to 
its faith. Among the first and the most noted of the missionaries 
sent to China at this time, was John of Mount Corvin, who 
reached Peking in 1293. He was afterward made an archbishop. 
From time to time bishops and priests were sent out to re-enforce 
this mission, but they met with indifferent success ; and when the 
Mongols were driven from China the enterprise was abandoned 
as a complete failure. After the fall of the Mongolian empire, 
direct overland communication with eastern Asia was interrupted, 
and for about two hundred years China was again almost com- 
pletely isolated from the western world. 

The use of the magnetic needle, and improvements in naviga- 
tion, made a new era in intercourse with the Orient. It is sup- 
posed that the first voyage from Europe to China was made by a 
Portuguese vessel in 1516. From this period commercial inter- 
course with China became more frequent, and various embassies 
were sent to the Chinese court by different nations of Europe. 
Unfortunately the growing familiarity of the Chinese with west- 
ern nations did not increase their respect and confidence in them. 
This was due partly to the servility of most of the embassies to 
Peking, but principally, no doubt, to the want of honesty and 



74 mSSENTIONS BETWEEN THE SECTS. 

the general lawlessness of most of the traders from the west. 
The consequence was that the Chinese became desirous of re- 
stricting foreign intercourse, and exercising as strict surveillance 
over their troublesome visitors as possible. 

Immediately after connection was established between Europe 
and the far east by sea, another and a more successful effort was 
made by the Roman church to propagate its faith in the Chinese 
empire, this being coincident with the growth of the exchange of 
business. Francis Xavier, in his attempt to gain an entrance 
into the country, died on one of the islands of the coast in 1552. 
Toward the close of the Sixteenth century the Portuguese ap- 
peared upon the scene, and from their "• concession " at Macao, at 
one time the residence of Camoens, opened commercial relations 
between China and the west. They brought the Chinese, among 
other things, opium, which had previously been imported over- 
land from India. They possibly taught them how to make gun- 
powder, to the invention of which the Chinese do not seem, upon 
striking a balance of evidence, to possess an independent claim. 
About the same time Rome contributed the first installment of 
those wonderful Jesuit fathers whose names yet eclio in the em- 
pire, the memory of their scientific labors and the benefits they 
thus conferred ui)on China having long survived the wreck and 
discredit of the faith to which they devoted their lives. At this 
distance of time it does not appear to be a wild statement, to as- 
sert that had the Jesuits, the Franciscans, and the Dominicans 
been able to resist quarreling among themselves, and had they 
rather united to persuade papal infallibility to permit the incor- 
poration of ancestor-worsliip with the rites and ceremonies of tlie 
Romish church, China would at this moment be a Catholic coun- 
try and Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism would long since 
have receded into the past. 

Of all these Jesuit missionaries, the name of Matteo Ricci 
stands by common consent upon the long list. He established 
himself in Canton in the garb of a Buddhist priest in 1581, He 
was a man of varied intellectual gifts and extensive learning, 
united with indomitable energy, zeal and perseverance, and great 
prudence. In 1601 he reached Peking in the dress of a literary 
gentleman. He spent many years in China. He associated with 



DISSENTIONS BETWEEN THE SECTS. 



75 



the highest personages in the land. He 9,cquired an unrivalled 
knowledge of the book language, and left behind him several 




CHINESE PRIEST. 



valuable treatises of a metaphysical and theological character, 
written in such a polished style as to command the recognition 



76 



BEGINNING OF THE REIGNING DYNASTY. 



and even the admiration of the Chinese. One of his most inti- 
mate friends and fellow workers was the well-known scholar and 
statesman, Hsn Knang-chi, the author of a voluminous com- 
pendium of agriculture, and joint author of the large work 
which introduced European astronomy to the Chinese. He was 
appointed by the emperor to co-operate with other Jesuit mis- 
sionaries in reforming the national calendar, which had gradually 
readied a stage of hopeless inaccuracy. He wrote independently 
several small scientific works ; also a severe criticism of the 
Buddhist religion, and finally, not least in importance, a defense 
of the Jesuits, addressed to the throne, when their influence at 

court had begun to excite envy 
and distrust. Hsu Kuang-chi 
forms the sole exception in the 
history of China of a scholar and 
a man of means and position on 
the side of Christianity. 

The age of the Chings is the 
age in which we live, but it is not 
so familiar to some persons as it 
ought to be that a Tartar and not 
a Chinese sovereign is now seated 
on the throne in China. For some 
time after the accession of the 
first Manchoo emperor, there was 
considerable friction between the 
two races. The subjugation of 
the empire by the Manchoos was 
followed by a military occupation of the country, which survived 
the original necessity, and has remained part of the system of 
government until the present day. The dynasty thus founded, 
partly by accident as it seems, as was related in the last chapter, 
has remained in power through the entire period of intercourse 
with western nations. The title adopted by the first emperor of 
the line was Shun-che. It was during the reign of this sovereign 
that Adam Schaal, a German Jesuit, took up his residence at 
Peking and that the first Russian embassy, 1656, visited the cap- 
ital. But in those days the Chinese had not learned to tolerate 




MAN OP SWATOW. 



THE GREATEST OF THE CHING RULERS. 77 

the idea tliat a foreigner should enter the presence of the Son of 
Heaven unless he were willing to perform the prostration known 
as the Ko-t'ow, and the Russians not being inclined to humor 
any such presumptuous folly left the capital without opening 
negotiations. 

Of the nine emperors of this line, from the first to the present, 
the second in every way fills the largest space in Chinese history. 
Kang Hi, the son of Shun-che, reigned for sixty-one years. This 
sovereign is renowned in modern Chinese history as a model ruler, 
a skillful general and an able author. During his reign Thibet 
was added to tlie empire, and the Eleuths were successfully sub- 
dued. But it is as a just and considerate ruler that he is best re- 
membered among the people. He treated the early Catholic 
priests with kindness and distinction, and availed himself in many 
ways of their scientific knowledge. He promulgated sixteen 
moral maxims collectively known as the " Sacred Edict," forming 
a complete code of rules for the guidance of every day life, and 
presented in such terse, yet intelligible terms, that they at once 
took firm hold of the public mind and have retained their position 
ever since. Kang Hi was the most successful patron of literature 
the world has ever seen. He caused to be published under hitf 
own personal supervision the four following compilations, known 
as the four great works of the present dynasty : A huge thesaurus 
of extracts in one hundred and ten tliick volumes ; an encyclopedia 
in four hundred and fifty books, usually bound in one hundred and 
sixty volumes ; an enlarged and improved edition of a herbarium 
in one hundred books ; and a complete collection of the important 
philosophical writings of Chu Hsi in sixty-six books. In addition 
to these the emperor designed and gave his name to the great 
modern lexicon of the Chinese language, which contains over 
forty thousand characters under separate entries, accompanied 
in each case by appropriate citations from the works of authors 
of every age and every style. The monumental encyclopedia 
contains articles on every known subject, and extracts from all 
works of authority dating from the twelfth century B. C. to that 
time. As only one hundred copies of the first imperial edition 
were printed, all of which were presented to princes of the blood 
and high officials, it is rapidly becoming extremely rare, and it is 



78 NEARING MODERN TIMES. 

not unlikely that before long the copy in the possession of the 
British museum will be the only complete copy existing. A cold 
caught on a hunting excursion in Mongolia brought his memorable 
reign of sixty-one years to a close, and he was succeeded on the 
throne by his son Yung Ching. 

The labors of the missionaries during the years of this last reign 
have been effective in establishing many churches and bishoprics, 
and in making many thousands of converts. But the suspicions 
in the minds of the Chinese rulers that the Christians were 
leagued with rebels, as well as the controversies between the 
different sects, antagonized the authorities. Under the third 
Manchoo emperor, Yung Ching, began that violent persecution of 
the Catholics which continued almost to the present day, and in 
the year 1723 an edict was promulgated prohibiting the further 
pro[)agation of this religion in the empire. From this time the 
Roman Catholics were subjected to this persecution except for a 
few alternate periods of comparative toleration. They have re- 
tained their position in the face of great difficulties and trials, and 
since the late treaties with China the number of their converts 
has rapidly increased. 

After a reign of twelve years, Yung Ching was gathered to his 
fathers, liaving bequeathed the throne to his son Kien Lung. Tliis 
fourth emperor of the dynasty enjoyed a long and glorious reign. 
He possessed many of the great qualities of his grandfather, but 
he lacked his wisdom and moderation. His generals led a large 
army into Nepaul and conquered the Goorkhas, reaching a point 
only some sixty miles distant from British territory. He carried 
his armies north, south, and west, and converted Kuldja into a 
Chinese province. But in Burmah, Cochin China, and Formosa 
his troops suffered discomfiture. During his reign, which ex- 
tended over sixty years, a fidl Chinese cycle, the relations of his 
government with the East India Company were extremely unsat- 
isfactory. The English merchants were compelled to submit to 
many indignities and wrongs ; and for the purpose of establishing 
a better international understanding Lord Macartney was sent by 
George IH. on a special mission to the court of Peking. The 
ambassador was received graciously by the emperor, who accepted 
the presents sent him by the English king, but owing to his 



MONUMENTAL LITERARY LABORS. 81 

ignorance of his own relative position, and of even the rudiments 
of international law, he declmed to give those assurances of a 
more equitable policy which were demanded of him. 

Like his illustrious ancestor, Kien Lung was a generous patron 
of literature, though only two instead of five great literary monu- 
ments remain to mark his sixty years of power. These are a 
magnificent bibliographical work in two hundred parts, consisting 
of a catalogue of the books in the imperial library, with valuable 
historical and critical notices attached to the entries of each ; and 
a huge topography of the whole empire in five hundred books, 
beyond doubt one of the most comprehensive and exhaustive 
works of the kind ever published. Kang Hi had been a volumin- 
ous poet; but the productions of Kien Lung far outnumber those 
of any previous or subsequent bard. Fov more than fifty veavs 
this emperor was an industrious poet, finding time in the intervals 
of state duties to put together no fewer than thirty-three thousand 
nine hundred and fifty separate pieces. In the estimation however 
of this apparently impossible contribution to poetic literature, it 
must always be borne in mind that the stanza of four lines is a 
favorite length for a poem and that the couplet is not uncommon. 
Even thus a large balance stands to the credit of a Chinese em- 
peror, whose time is rarely his own, and whose day is divided with 
wearisome regularity, beginning with councils and audiences long 
before daylight has appeared. We gain a glimpse into Kien 
Lung's court from the account of Lord Macartney's embassy in 
1795, which was so favorably received by the venerable monarch 
a short time previous to his abdication, and three years before his 
death, and forms such a contrast with that of Lord Amherst to 
his successor in 1816. In 1795, at the age of eighty-five years, 
Kien Lung abdicated in favor of his fifteenth son who ascended 
the throne with the title of Kea King. 

During the reign of Kea King, a second English embassy was 
sent to Peking, in 1816, to represent to the emperor the unsatis- 
factory position of the English merchants in China. The envoy. 
Lord Amherst, was met at the mouth of the Peiho and conducted 
to Yuen-ming-yuen or summer palace, where the emperor was re- 
siding. On his arrival he was officially warned that only on con- 
dition of his performing the Ko-t'ow would he be permitted to 



82 



PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES AT WORK. 



behold "the dragon countenance." This of course was impos 



]:«jf^ j — 

,,11,- r?^---:- 




CHINESE PEASANT, PEIHO DISTRICT. 

sible, and he consequently left the palace without having slept a 
night under its roof. 



PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES AT WORK. 83 

Meanwhile the internal affairs of the country were even more 
disturbed than the foreign relations. A succession of rebellions 
broke out in the western and northern provinces and the sea- 
boards were ravaged by pirates. While these disturbing causes 
were in full phij^ the emperor died, in 1820, and the throne de- 
volved upon Tao Kuang, his second son. It was during the 
reign of Kea Kiog that Protestant missionaries initiated a syste- 
matic attempt to convert the Chinese to Christianity; but the 
religious toleration of these people, which on the whole has been 
a marked feature in their civilization of all ages, had been sorely 
tried by the Catholics and but little progress was made. In an- 
other direction some of the early Protestant missionaries did 
great service to the world at large. They spent much of their 
time in grappling with the difficulties of the written language ; 
and the publication of Dr. Morrison's famous dictionary and the 
achievements of Dr. Legge were the culmination of these labors. 

Under Tao Kuang both home and foreign affairs went from 
bad to worse. A secret league known as the Triad Society, 
which was first formed during the reign of Kang Hi, now as- 
sumed a formidable bearing, and in many parts of the country, 
notably in Honan, Kwang-hsi, and Formosa, insurrections broke 
out at its instigation. At the same time the mandarins continued 
to persecute the English m'erchants, and on the ex[)iration of the 
East India Company's monopoly in 1834 the English government 
sent Lord Napier to Canton to superintend the foreign trade at 
that port. Thwarted at every turn by the presumptuous obsti- 
nacy of the ma.ndarins. Lord Napier's health gave way under the 
constant vexations connected with his post, and he died at Macao 
after but a few months' residence in China. 

The opium trade was now the question of the hour, and at the 
urgent demand of Commissioner Lin, Captain Elliot, the super- 
intendent of trade, agreed that all opium in the hands of English 
merchants should be given up to the authorities. On the 3rd of 
April, 1839, twenty thousand two hundred and eighty-three 
chests of opium were, in accordance with this agreement, 
handed over to the mandarins, who burnt them to ashes. 
This demand of Lin's, though agreed to by the superin- 
tendent of trade, was considered so unreasonable by the English 



84 OPIUM TRADE AND THE WAR. 

government that in the following yeen' war was declared against 
China. The island of Chusan and the Bogue forts on the Canton 
river soon fell into the English hands, and Commissioner Lin's 
snccessor sought to purchase peace by the cession of Hong Kong 
and the payment of an indemnity of f 6, 000,000. This conven- 
tion was, however, repudiated by tlie Peking government, and it 
was not until Canton, Amoy, Ningpo, Shanghai, Chapoo and 
Chin-keang Foo had been taken by the British troops, that the 
emperor at last consented to come to terms, now of course far 
more onerous. By a treaty made by Sir Henry Pottinger in 
1842 the cession of Hong Kong was supplemented by the open- 
ing of the four ports of Amoy, Foochow Foo, Ningpo, and 
Shanghai to foreign trade, and the indemnity of $6,000,000 was 
increased to 121,000,000. 

Without noticing the other points at issue and the merits of 
the dispute concerning them, it is considered by the world at 
large that one of the blackest pages in the records of the history 
of civilization is that which tells of the forcing of the opium 
traffic upon the Chinese by Great Britain. The Chinese people 
were making most strenuous efforts to abolish the traffic in 
opium and the habit of its use, which had been introduced from 
India, and which was rapidly becoming the curse of the nation. 
But for commercial motives, in this Victorian age of civilization, 
England sent to force compliance with the demand of her mer- 
chants in China that the sale of the drug be legalized. The 
rapid spread of the use of opium among the hundreds of millions 
of Chinese, dating from this time, may be charged against En- 
gland, in the long account which records the oppression and the 
shame of her dealings with whatever eastern nation she has 
played the game of war and colonization and annexation. 

Death put an end to Tao Kuang's reign in 1850, and his fourth 
son, Hien Feng, assumed rule over the distracted empire which 
was bequeathed him by his father. There is a popular belief 
among the Chinese that two hundred years is the natural life of 
a dynasty. This is one of those traditions w^hich are apt to 
bring about their own fulfilment, and in the beginning of the 
reign of Hien Feng the air was rife with rumors that an effort 
was to be made to restore the Ming dynasty to the throne. Om 



> 

H 
H 

r 
o 
o 
n 

H 

C/2 




.^1 1 f . 



HOW THE TAI-PING REBELLION BEGAN. 



87 



such occasions there are always real or pretended scions of the 
required family forthcoming. And when the flames of rebellion 
broke out in Kwang-hsi a claimant suddenly appeared under the 
title of Teen-tih, " heavenly virtue," to liead the movement. But 
he had not the capacity required to play the necessarj- part, and 
the affair languished and would have died out altogether had not 
a leader named Hung Sew-tseuen arose, who combined all the 
qualities required in a leader of men, energy, enthusiasm, and 
religious bigotry. 

As soon as he was sufficiently powerful he advanced northward 
into Honan and 
Hoopih, and cap- 
tured Woo-chang 
Foo, the capital of 
the last named 
province, and a 
city of great com- 
mercial and strate- 
gical importance, 
situated as it is at 
the junction of the 
Plan river with the 
Chiang. Having 
made this place 
secure he advanced 
down the river and 
made himself mas- 
ter of Gan-ting and 
the old capital of the empire, Nanking. Here in 1852 he estab- 
lished his throne, and proclaimed the commencement of Tai- 
ping dynasty. For himself he adopted the title of Teen-wang, or 
" heavenly king." For a time all went well with the new dynasty. 
The Tai-ping standard was carried northward to the walls of 
Tien-tsin and floated over the towns of Chin-keang Foo and 
Soochow Foo. 

Meanwhile the imperial authorities had by their stupidity raised 
another enemy against themselves. The outrage on the English 
flag perpetrated on board the Chinese lorcha "Arrow," at Canton 
5 




CHINESE MANDARIN. 



88 CHINA AT WAR WITH ENGLAND. 

in 1857, having been left unredressed by the mandarins, led to 
the proclamation of war by England. Canton fell to the arms of 
General Straubenzee, and Sir Michael Seymour in December of 
the same year, and in the following spring the Taku forts at the 
mouth of the Peiho having been taken. Lord Elgin, who had in 
the meantime arrived as plenipotentiary minister, advanced up 
the river to Tien-tsin on his way to the capital. At that city, 
however, he was met by imperial commissioners, and yielding to 
their entreaties he concluded a treaty with them which it was 
arranged should be ratified at Peking in the following year. 

But the evil genius of the Chinese still pursuing them, they 
treacherously fired on the fleet accompanying Sir Frederic Bruce, 
Lord Elgin's brother, proceeding in 1860 to Peking, in fulfillment 
of this agreement. This outrage rendered another military ex- 
pedition necessary, and in conjunction with the French govern- 
ment, the English cabinet sent out a force under the command 
of Sir Hope Grant, with orders to march to Peking. In the sum- 
mer of 1861 the allied forces landed at Peh-tang, a village twelve 
miles north of the Taku forts, and taking these intrenchments in 
the rear captured them with but a trifling loss. This success 
was so utterly unexpected by the Chinese, that leaving Tien-tsin 
unprotected they retreated rapidly to the neighborhood of the 
capital. The allies pushed on after them, and in reply to an in- 
vitation sent from the imperial commissioners at Tung-chow, a 
town twelve miles from Peking, Sir Harry Parkes and Mr. Loch, 
accompanied by an escort and some few friends, went in advance 
of the army to make a preliminary convention. While so engaged 
they were treacherously taken prisoners and carried to Peking. 

This act precipitated an engagement in which the Chinese were 
completely routed, and the allies marched on to Peking. After 
the usual display of obstinacy the Chinese yielded to the demand 
for the surrender of the An-ting gate of the city. From this 
vantage point Lord Elgin opened negotiations, and having secured 
the release of Sir Harry Parkes and the other prisoners who had 
survived the tortures to which they had been subjected, and hav- 
ing burnt the summer palace of the emperor as a punishment for 
their treacherous capture and for the cruelties perpetrated on 
them, he concluded a treaty with Prince Kung, the representative 



PUNISHMENT FOR TREACHERY. 



89 



of the emperor. By this instrument the Chinese agreed to pay a 
war indemnity of 18,000,000 and to open six other ports in China, 
one in Formosa, and one in the island of Hainan to foreign trade, 
and to permit the representatives of the foreign governments to 
reside at Peking. 




GATE AT PEKING. 



Having thus relieved themselves from the presence of a foreign 
foe, the authorities were able to devote their attention to the 
suppression of the Tai-ping rebellion. Fortunately for them- 
selves, the apparent friendliness with which they greeted the 



90 CHINESE GORDON AND HIS WORK. 

arrival of the British legation at Peking enlisted for them the 
sympathies of Sir Frederic Bruce, the British minister, and in- 
clined him to listen to their request for the services of an English 
officer in their campaign against the rebels. At the request of 
Bruce, General Staveley selected Major Gordon, since generally 
known as Chinese Gordon, who was killed a few years ago at 
Khartoom, for this dut3^ A better man or one more peculiarly 
fit for the work could have been found. A numerous force 
known as " the ever victorious arm}^," partly officered by foreign- 
ers, had for some time been commanded by an American named 
Ward and after liis death by Burgevine, another American. Over 
this force Gordon was placed, and at the head of it he marched in 
conjunction with the Chinese generals against the Tai -pings. 
With masterly strategy he struck a succession of rapid and tell- 
ing blows against the fortunes of the rebels. City after city fell 
into his hands, and at length the leaders at Soochow opened the 
gates of the city to him on condition that he would spare their 
lives. With cruel treachery, when these men presented them- 
selves before Li Hung Chang to offer their submission to the em- 
peror, they were seized and beheaded. On learning how lightly 
his word had been treated by the Chinese general, Gordon armed 
himself, for the first time during the campaign with a revolver, 
and sought out the Chinese headquarters intending to avenge 
with his own hand this murder of the Tai-ping leaders. But Li 
Hung Chang having received timely notice of the righteous anger 
he had aroused took to flight, and Gordon, thus thwarted in his 
immediate object, threw up his command feeling that it was im- 
possible to continue to act with so orientally-minded a colleague. 

After considerable negotiation however, he was ])ersuaded to 
return to his command and soon succeeded in so completely crip- 
pling the power of the rebels that in July 186i, Nanking, their 
last stronghold, fell into the hands of the imperialists. Teen- 
wang was then already dead, and his body was found within the 
walls wrapped in imperial yellow. Thus- was crushed out a 
rebellion which had paralyzed the imperial power in the central 
provinces of the empire and which had for twelve years seriously 
threatened the existence of the reigning dynasty. 

Meanwhile in the summer following the conclusion of the 




OPIUM SMOKERS. 



MASSACRE OF THE FRENCH CATHOLICS. 93 

treaty of Peking, 1861, the emperor, Hien Feng, breatlied liis last 
at Jeliol, an event which was in popuhir belief foretold by the 
appearance of a comet in the early part of the summer. He was 
succeeded to the throne by his only son, a mere cliild, and the off- 
spring of one of the imperial concubines. He adopted the name 
of Tung Chih. On account of his 3'outh the administration of 
affairs was placed in the hands of the two dowager empresses, the 
wife of the last emperor and the mother of the new one. These 
regents were aided by the counsels of the boy emperor's uncle, 
Prince Kung. 

Under the direction of these regents, though the internal 
affairs of the empire prospered, the foreign relations were dis- 
turbed by the display of an increasingly hostile spirit towards 
the Christian missionaries and their converts, which culminated 
in 1870 in the Tien-tsin massacre. In some of the central prov- 
inces reports had been industriously circulated that the Roman 
Catholic missionaries were in the habit of kidnapping and mur- 
dering children, in order to make medicine from their eyeballs. 
Ridiculous as the rumor was, it found, ready credence among the 
ignorant people, and several outrages were perpetrated on the 
missionaries and their converts in Kwang-hsi and Szechwan. 
Through the active interference, however, of the French min- 
ister on the spot, the agitation was locally suppressed only to be 
renewed at Tien-tsin. Here also the same absurd rumors were 
set afloat, and were especially directed against some sisters of 
charity who had opened an orphanage in the city. 

For some days previous to the massacre on the 21st of June, 
reports increasing in alarm reached the foreign residents that an 
outbreak was to be apprehended, and three times the English 
consul wrote to Chung How, the superintendent of the three 
northern ports, calling upon him to take measures to subdue the 
gathering passions of the people which had been further danger- 
ously exasperated by an infamous proclamation issued by the 
prefects. To these communications the consul did not receive 
any reply, and on the morning of the 21st, a day which had ap- 
parently been deliberately fixed for the massacre, the attack was 
made. The mob first broke into the French consulate and while 
the consul, M. Fontanier, was with Chung How endeavoring to 



94 PUNISHMENT OF THE MURDERERS. 

persuade him to interfere, two Frenchmen and their wives, and 
Father Chevrien were there murdered. While returning the 
consul suffered the same fate. Having thus whetted their taste 
for blood, the rioters then set fire to the French cathedral, and 
afterward moved on to the orphanage of the sisters of mercy. 
In spite of the appeals of these defenseless women for mercy, if 
not for themselves at least for the orphans under their charge, 
the mob broke into the hospital, killed and mutilated most shock- 
ingly all the sisters, smothered from thirty to forty children in 
the vault, and carried off a still larger number of older persons 
to prisons in the city, where they were subjected to tortures of 
which they bore terrible evidence when their release was at 
length affected. In addition to these victims, a Russian gentle- 
man with his bride, and a friend, who were unfortunate enough 
to meet the rioters on their wa}^ to the cathedral, were also mur- 
dered. No other foreigners were injured, a circumstance due to 
the fact tliat the fury of the mob was primarily directed against 
the French Roman Catholics, and also that the foreign settle- 
ment where all but those engaged in missionary work resided, 
was at a distance of a couple of miles from the city. 

When the evil was done, the Chinese authorities professed 
themselves anxious to make reparation, and Chung How was 
eventually sent to Paris to offer the apologies of the Peking cab- 
inet to the French government. These were ultimately accepted ; 
and it was further arranged that the Tien-tsin prefect and district 
magistrate should be removed from their posts and degraded, and 
that twenty of the active murderers should be executed. By 
these retributive measures the emperor's government made its 
peace with the European powers, and the foreign relations again 
assumed their former friendly footing. 

The Chinese had now leisure to devote their efforts to the sub- 
jugation of the Panthay rebels. This was a great Mohammedan 
uprising which dated back as far as 1856 and which had for its 
object the separation of the province of Yun-nan into an inde- 
pendent state. The visit of the adopted son of the rebel leader, 
the sultan Suleiman, to England, for the purpose of attempting 
to enlist the sympathies of the English government in the Pan- 
tlui}^ cause, no doubt added zest to the action of the mandarins, 



EMPEROR RECEIVES THE MINISTERS. 95 

who after a short but vigorous campaign, marked by scenes of 
bloodshed and wholesale carnage, suppressed the rebellion and 
restored the province to the imperial sway. 

Peace was thus brought about, and when the empresses handed 
over the reigns of power to the emperor, on the occasion of his 
marriage in 1872, tranquility reigned throughout the eighteen 
provinces. The formal assumption of power proclaimed by this 
marriage was considered by the foreign ministers a fitting oppor- 
tunity to insist on the fulfillment of the article in the treaties 
which provided for their reception by the emperor, and after 
much negotiation it was finally arranged that the emperor should 
receive them on the 29th of June, 1873. 

Very early therefore on the morning of that day, the ministers 
were astir and were conducted in their sedan chairs to the park 
on the west side of the palace, where they were met by some of 
the ministers of state, who led them to the " Temple of Prayer 
for Seasonable Weather." Here they were kept waiting for 
some time while tea and confectionery from the imperial kitchen, 
by favor of the emperor, were served to them. They were then 
conducted to an oblong tent made of matting on the west side 
of the Tsze-kwang pavilion, where they were met by Prince 
Kung and other ministers. As soon as the emperor reached the 
pavilion, the Japanese ambassador was introduced into his pres- 
ence and when he had retired the other foreign miuisters entered 
the audience chamber in a body. The emperor was seated facing 
southward. On either side of his majesty stood, with Prince 
Kung, several princes and high officers. When the foreign min- 
isters reached the center aisle they halted and bowed one and all 
together ; they then advanced in line a little further and made a 
second bow ; and when they had nearly reached the yellow table 
on which tlieir credentials were to be deposited they bowed a 
third time ; after which they remained erect. M. Vlangaly, the 
Russian minister, then read a congratulatory address in French, 
which was translated by an interpreter into Chinese, and the 
ministers making another reverence respectfully laid their letters 
of credence upon the yellow table. The emperor was pleased to 
make a slight inclination of the head towards them, and Prince 
Kung advancing to the left of the throne and falling upon his 



96 CEREMONIES OF THE RECEPTION. 

knees, had the honor to be informed in Manchoo that his majesty 
acknowledged the receijot of the letters presented. Prince Knng, 
with his arms raised according to precedent set by Confucius 
when in the presence of his sovereign, came down by the steps on 
the left of the desk, to tlje foreign ministers, and respectfully re- 
peated this in Chinese. After this he again prostrated himself, 
and in like manner received and convey-ed a message to the effect 
that his majesty hoped that all foreign questions would be satis- 
factorily disposed of. The ministers then withdrew, bowing 
repeatedly, until they reached the entrance. 

Thus ended the first instance during the present century of 
Europeans being received in imperial audience. Whether under 
more fortunate circumstances the ceremony might have been re- 
peated it is difficult to say, but in the following year the young 
emperor was stricken down with the small-pox, or " enjoyed the 
felicity of the heavenly flowers," and finally succumbed to the 
disease on the twelfth of January, 1875. With great ceremony 
the funeral obsequies were performed over the body of him who 
had been Tung Chih, and the coffin was finally laid in the imperial 
mausoleum among the eastern hills beside the remains of his pred- 
ecessors. His demise was shortly afterwards followed by the 
death of the girl empress he had just previously raised to the 
throne. 

For the first time in the annals of the Ching dynasty, the 
throne was now left without a direct heir. As it is the office of 
the son and heir to perform regularly the ancestral worship, it is 
necessary that if there should be no son, the heir should be, if 
possible, of a later generation than the deceased. In the present 
instance this was impossible, and it was necessary therefore that 
the lot should fall on one of the cousins of the late emperor. 
Tsai teen, the son of the Prince of Chun, a child not quite four 
years old, was chosen to fill the vacant throne, and the title con- 
ferred upon him was Kuang Su or " an inheritance of glory." 

Scarcely had the proclamation gone forth of the assumption of 
the imperial title by Kuang Su, when news reached the English 
legation at Peking of the murder at Manwyne, in the province of 
Yun-nan, of Mr. Margary, an officer in the consular service who 
had been dispatched to meet an expedition sent by the Indian 



MUKDER OF AN ENGLISH EXPLORER. 97 

government, under the command of Colonel Horace Browne, to 
discover a route from Birraah into the south-western provinces 
of China. In accordance with conventional practice, the Chinese 
government, on being called to account for this outrage, attempted 
to lay it to the charge of brigands. But the evidence which Sir 
Thomas Wade was able to adduce proved too strong to be ignored 
even by the Peking mandarins, and eventually they signed a con- 
vention in which they practically acknowledged their blood guilti- 
ness, under the terms of which some fresh commercial privileges 
were granted, and an indemnity was paid. 

At the same time a Chinese nobleman was sent to England to 
make apology, and to establish an embassy on a permanent footing 
at the court of St. James. Since that time the Chinese empire 
has been at peace with all foreign powers until the eruptions of 
the recent months. . There have been some narrow escapes from 
war with the European countries holding possessions on the 
southern Chinese border, but serious results have not followed. 
Ministers have been maintained in China by the western nations, 
and by China in the western capitals. 

Under the child Kuang Su, who came to the throne in 1875, 
we have seen the completion of Chinese re-conquests in Central 
Asia and the restoration of Kuldja by the Russians. For many 
years the progressive party in the nation's councils, under the 
leadership of Li Hung Chang, Viceroy of Chihli, gradually ap- 
peared to gain ground, amply posted as the court of Peking was 
in the affairs of western countries. Even the old conservative 
party, of which the successful and the aged general Tso Tsung- 
tang was the representative, has vastly modified its tone in the 
last twenty years. 

It is true that the short experimental line of railway which had 
been laid down between Shanghai and Wusung was objected to, 
and finally got rid of by the Chinese government; but the reason 
for this apparently retrograde step arose out of the not very 
scrupulous means employed by the promoters of the scheme, and 
out of the very natural dislike of an independent state to be 
forced into innovations for which it may not be altogether pre- 
pared. Since that time several telegraph lines have been con- 
structed, beginning with the first one between Peking and 



98 CHINA'S SLOW PROGRESS. 

Sliaiighai, which formed the final connecting link between the 
capital of the Chinese empire and the western civilized world. 
The freedom of residence has been greatly extended to foreigners 
living in China. Travel has become safer, and popular hatred 
towards foreigners not as apparent. Slow as it has been to take 
effect, nevertheless the influence of closer association with western 
civilization has made its impress on the Chinese nation, and the 
extreme conservatism in many details has been compelled to 
waver. The stories of the war which are to follow will indicate 
much of the characteristics of the later day history of the empire. 



THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 



Origin of tlie Name of Cliina, and What tlie Cliinese Call their Own Country— Depend* 
encies of the Empire— China and the United States in Comparison— Their Many Physical 
Similarities— Mountains and Plains— The Fertile Soil— Provinces of China— Rivers and 
Lakes— Climate— Fauna and Flora— Industries of the People— Commerce with Foreign 
Nations— The Cities of China— Forms of Government and Administration. 

Until recent years the word China was unknown in the empire 
which we call by that name, but of late it has become more 
familiar to the Chinese, and in certain regions they are in fact 
adopting it for their own use, owing to the frequency with which 
they hear it from the foreigners with whom they are doing busi- 
ness. The name was no doubt introduced in Europe and America 
from the nations of Central Asia who speak of the Chinese by 
various names derived from that of the powerful Ching family, 
who .held sway many centuries ago. The names which the 
Chinese use in speaking of themselves are various. The most 
common one is Chung Kwo, the " Middle Kingdom." This term 
grew up in the feudal period as a name for the royal domain in 
the midst of the other states, or for those states as a whole in the 
midst of the uncivilized countries around them. The assump- 
tion of universal sovereignty, of being the geographical center 
of the world, and also the center of light and civilization that 
have been so injurious to the nation, appear in several of the 
most ancient names. In the oldest classical writings the country 
is called the Flowery Kingdom, flowery presenting the idea of 
beautiful, cultivated, and refined. The terms Heavenly Flowery 
Kingdom, and Heavenly Dynasty are sometimes used, the word 
heavenly presenting the Chinese idea that the empire is estab- 
lished by the authority of heaven, and that the emperor rules by 
divine right. This title has given rise to the contemptuous 
epithet applied to the race by the Europeans, " The Celestials." 

The Chinese empire, consisting of China proper and Man- 
chooria, with its dependencies of Mongolia, I-li and Thibet, em- 
braces a vast territory in eastern and central Asia, only inferior 

(99) 



100 DEPENDENCIES OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 

ill extent to the dominions of Great Britain and Russia. The 
dependencies are not colonies but subject territories ; and China 
proper itself indeed, has been a subject territory of Manchooria 
since 1644. 

China proper was divided nearly two hundred years ago into 
eighteen provinces ; and since the recent separation of the island 
of Formosa from Fu-chien, and its constitution into an independ- 
ent province, we may say that it now consists of nineteen. 
These form one of the corners of the Asiatic continent, having 
the Pacific oceim on the south and east. They are somewhat in 
the shape of an irregular rectangle, and including the island of 
Hainan lie between 18 and 49 degrees north latitude and 98 and 
124 degrees east longitude. Their area is about two million 
square miles, while the whole empire has an area more than twice 
that large. 

In giving a correct general idea of China one cannot perhaps 
do better than to institute a comparison between it and the 
United States, to which it bears a striking resemblance. It occu- 
pies the same position in the eastern hemisphere that the United 
States does in the western. Its line of sea coast on tlie Pacific 
resembles that of the United States on the Atlantic, not only in 
length but also in contour. Being found within almost the same 
parallels of latitude, it embraces almost the same variety of 
climate and production. A river as grand as the Mississippi, 
flowing east, divides the empire into nearly two equal parts, 
which are often designated as "north of the river" and "south 
of the river." It passes through an immense and fertile valley, 
and is supplied by numerous tributaries having rise in mountain 
ranges on either side and also in the Himalayas on the west. Tlie 
area of China proper is about two-thirds that of the states of 
the American union. 

The resemblance holds also in the artificial divisions. While 
our country is divided into more than forty states, China is 
divided into nineteen provinces. As our states are divided into 
counties, so each province has divisions called fu and each fu is 
again divided into about an equal number of hien. These divis- 
ions and subdivisions of the provinces are generally spoken of in 
English as departments or prefectures, and districts, but they are 




CHINESE MINERS. 



CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES. 103 

much larger than our corresponding counties and townships. 
And similarly to our own system of government, each of these 
divisions and subdivisions has its own capital or seat of civil 
power, in which the officers exercising jurisdiction over it reside. 
The outer dependencies of the Chinese empire are comparatively 
sparseh' populated, and in tliis work, when China, without spec- 
ification, is mentioned, it is intended to refer to the eighteen 
provinces exclusively, which include the vast proportion of the 
population, intelligence and wealth of the empire. 

As to the physical features of China proper, the whole terri- 
tory may be described as sloping from the mountainous regions 
of Thibet and Nepaul towards the shores of the Pacific on the 
east and south. A far extending spur of the Himalayas called 
the Nanling, or southern range, is the most extensive mountain 
system. It commences in Yun-nan, and passing completely 
through the country enters the sea at Ningpo. Except for a few 
steep passes, it thus forms a continuous barrier that separates the 
coast regions of south-eastern China from the rest of the country. 
Numerous spurs are cast off to the south and east of it, which 
appear in the sea as a belt of rugged islands. On the borders of 
Thibet to the north and west of this range, the country is mount- 
ainous, while to the east and from the great wall on the north to 
the Po-)^ang Lake in the south, there is the great plain comprising 
an area of more than two hundred thousand square miles and 
supporting in the five provinces contained in it more than one 
hundred and seventy-five million people. 

In the north-western provinces the soil is a brownish colored 
earth, extremely porous, crumbling easily between the fingers, 
and carried far and wide in clouds of dust. It covers the sub -soil 
to an enormous depth and is apt to split perpendicularly in clefts 
which render traveling difficult. Nevertheless by this cleavage 
it affords homes to thousands of the people, who live in caves ex- 
cavated near the bottom of the cliffs. Sometimes whole villages 
are so formed in terraces of the earth that rise one above another. 
The most valuable quality of this peculiar soil is its marvelous 
fertility, as the fields composed of it require scarcely any other 
dressing than a sprinkling of its own fresh loam. The farmer in 
this way obtains an assured harvest two and even three times a 



104 MOUNTAINS, PLAINS AND PROVINCES. 

year. This fertility, provided there be a sufficient rainfall, seems 
inexhaustible. The province of Shan-hsi has borne the name for 
thousands of years of the " granary of the nation," and it is, no 
doubt, due to the distribution of this earth over its surface, that 
the great plain owes its fruitfulness. 

Geographically speaking the arrangement of the provinces of 
China is as follows: On the north there are four provinces, 
Chihli, Shan-hsi, Shen-hsi, and Kan-su; on the west two, Sze- 
chwan, the largest of all, and Yun-nan ; on the south two, 
Kwang-hsi and Kwang-tung ; on the east four, Fu-chien, Cheh- 
cliiang, Chiang-su, and Shantung. The central area enclosed by 
these twelve provinces is occupied by Honan, An-hui, Hoopih, 
Hunan, Chiang-hsi, and Kwei-chau. The latter is a poor prov- 
ince, with parts of it largely occupied by clans or tribes supposed 
to be the aborigines. The island of Form^osa, lying off the coast 
of Fu-chien, ninety miles west of Amoy, is about two hundred 
and thirty-five miles in length, fertile and rich in coal, petroleum, 
and camphor wood. The first settlement of a Chinese population 
took place only in 1683, and the greater part of it is still occupied 
by aboriginal tribes of a more than ordinary high type. The 
population of these provinces is immense, but the various esti- 
mates and alleged censuses fluctuate and vary so much that it is 
impossible to give a definite number as the total. It is a safe 
estimate however to say that the population of the Chinese empire 
approximates four hundred million, or considerably more than 
one fourth the population of the world, and nearly as much as the 
total of all Europe and America. 

One of the most distinguishing features of China is found in 
the great rivers. These are called for the most part " ho " in the 
north and *'chiang" (kiang) in the south. Two of these are 
famous and conspicuous among the great rivers of the world, the 
Ho, Hoang-ho, or Yellow River, and the Chiang, generally mis- 
named the Yangtsze. The sources of these two rivers are not 
far from one another. The Ho rises in the plain of Odontala, 
which is a region of springs and small lakes, and the Chiang from 
the mountains of Thibet only a few miles distant. The Ho pur- 
sues a tortuous course first to the east and north until it crosses 
the great wall into Mongolia. After flowing a long distance 



TWO GREAT RIVERS OF CHINA. 105 

northward of the Mongolian desert, to the northern limit of Shen- 
hsi, it then turns directly south for a distance of five hundred 
miles. A right angle turns its course again to the eastward and 
finally north-eastward, when it flows into the Gulf of Pechili in 
the province of Shan-tung. The Chiang on the contrary turns 
south where the Ho turns north, and then after a general course 
to the eastward and northward, roughly paralled with its fellow, 
flows into the Eastern Sea, not far from Shanghai. 

Both rivers are exceedingly tortuous and their courses are only 
roughly outlined here. Almost the very opening of Chinese 
history is an account of one of the inundations of the Ho River, 
wliich has often in course of time changed its cliannel. The 
terrible calamities caused by it so often have procured for it the 
name of " China's sorrow." As recently as 1887 it burst its 
southern bank near Chang Chau, and poured its mighty flood with 
hideous devastation, and the destruction of millions of lives, into 
the populous province of Honan. Each of these rivers has a 
course of more than three thousand miles. They are incompar- 
ably the greatest in China, but there are many others which 
would be accounted great elsewhere. In connection with inland 
navigation must be mentioned the Grand Canal, intended to con- 
nect the northern and southern parts of the empire by an easy 
water communication ; and this it did when it was in good order, 
extending from Peking to Hankow, a distance of more than six 
hundred miles. Kublai Khan, the first sovereign of the Yuan 
dynasty, must be credited with the glory of making this canal. 
Marco Polo described it, and compliments the great ruler for the 
success of his work. Steam communication all along the eastern 
seaboard from Canton to Tien-tsin has very much superseded tlie 
use of the canal and portions of it are now in bad condition, but 
as a truly imperial achievement it continues to be a grand memo- 
rial of Kublai. 

The Great Wall was another vast achievement of human 
labor, constructed more than two thousand years ago. It has. 
been alleged a myth at some times, but its existence has not been 
denied since explorations have been made to the north of China 
Proper. It was not as useful as the canal, and it failed to answer 
^J/he purpose for which it was intended, a defense against the in- 



106 CHINA'S WONDERFUL GREAT WALL, 

cursions of the northern tribes. In 214 B. C. tlie Emperor Che 
Hwang Ti determined to erect a grand barrier all along the 
northern limit of his vast empire. The wall commences at the 
Shan-hsi pass on the north coast of the Gulf of Pecliili. From 
this point it is carried westward till it terminates at the Chia-yu 
barrier gate, the road through which leads to the " western re- 
gions." It is twice interrupted in its course by the Ho River, and 
has several branch and loop walls to defend certain cities and dis- 
tricts. Its length in a straight line would be one thousand two 
hundred and fifty-five miles, but if measured along its sinuosities 
this distance must be increased to one thousand five hundred. It 
is not built so grandly in its western portions after passing the 
Ho River, nor should it be supposed that to the east of this point 
it is all solid masonry. It is formed by two strong retaining 
walls of brick rising from granite foundations, the space between 
being filled with stones and earth. The breadth of it at the base 
is about twenty-five feet, at the top fifteen feet, and the height 
varies from fifteen to thirty feet. The surface at the top was 
once covered with bricks but is now overgrown with grass. What 
travelers go to visit from Peking is merely a loop wall of later 
formation, enclosing portions of Chihli and Shan-hsi. 

China, includes many lakes, but they are not so commanding in 
size as the rivers. There are but three which are essential to 
mention. These are the Tung-ting Hu, the largest, having a cir- 
cumference of two hundred and twenty miles, about in the center 
of the empire ; the Po-yang Hu, half way between the former 
and the sea ; and the Tai Hu, not far from Shanghai and the 
Yang-tsze River. The latter lake is famous for its romantic 
scenery and numerous islets. 

The peculiarities of climate along the Chinese coast are due 
in great measure to the northern and southern monsoons, the 
former prevailing with more or less uniformity during the winter, 
and the latter during the summer months. These winds give a 
greater degree of heat in summer and of cold in winter than is 
experienced in the United States in corresponding latitudes. At 
Ningpo, situated in latitude 30, about that of New Orleans, large 
quantities of ice are secured in the winter for summer use. It is, 
however, very thin measured by what we think proper ice for 



CLIMATE OF CHINA. 107 

perservation. In this part of China snow not infrequently falls 
to the depth of six or eight inches, and the hills are sometimes 
covered with it for weeks in saccession. In the northern prov- 
inces the winters are very severe. In tlie vicinity of Peking, not 
only are the canals and rivers closed during the winter, but all 
commerce by sea is suspended during two or three months, while 
in the summer that part of China is very warm. The period of 
the change of the monsoon, when the two opposite currents are 
struggling with each other is marked by a great fall of rain and 
by the cyclones which are so much dreaded by mariners on the 
Chinese coast. The southern monsoon gradually loses its force 
in passing northward, and is not very marked above latitude 32, 
though its influence is decidedly felt in July and August. With 
the exception of the summer months the climate of the northern 
coast of China is remarkably dry ; that of the southern coast is 
damp most of the year, especially during the months of May, 
June, and July. 

In different parts of the country almost every variety of climate 
can be found, hot or cold, moist or dry, salubrious or malarial. 
The ports which were at first opened as places of residence for 
foreigners were unfortunately among the most unhealthful of the 
empire, not so much from the enervating effects of their southerly 
latitude as from their local miasmatic influences, being situated 
in the rice-producing districts and surrounded more or less by 
stagnant water during the summer months. Under the later 
treaties which opened new ports in the north, as well as interior 
cities, foreigners have been permitted to live in regions whose 
climates will compare favorably with most parts of our own 
country. The Chinese themselves consider Kwang-tung, Kwang- 
hsi, and Yun-nan to be less healthful than the other provinces ; 
but foreigners using proper precautions may enjo}^ their lives in 
every province. 

The Chinese are essentially an agricultural people, and from 
time immemorial they have held agriculture in the highest esteem 
as being the means by which the soil has been induced to supply 
the primary wants of the empire, food. Of course the climate 
and the nature of a district determine the kind of farming appro- 
priate to it. Agriculturally China may be said to be divided 



108 



WHERE FOREIGNERS LIVE. 



into two parts by the Chiang. South of that river, speaking 
generally, the soil and climate point to rice as the appropriate 
crop, while to the north lie vast plains which as clearly are best 
designed for growing wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn and other 
cereals. Culinary or kitchen herbs, mushrooms, and aquatic veg- 
etables, with ginger and a variety of other condiments, are every- 
where produced and widely used. From Formosa there comes 
sugar, and the cane thrives also in the southern provinces. 




. ^C^irf'ov: 



CHINESE FARM SCENE. 



Oranges, pomegranates, peaches, plantains, pineapples, mangoes, 
grapes, and many other fruits and nuts are supplied in most 
markets. The cultivation of opium is constantly on the increase. 
Of course the use of tea as a beverage is a national characteris- 
tic. The plant does not grow in the north, but is cultivated ex- 
tensively in the western provinces and in the southern. The in- 
fusion of the leaves was little if at all drunk in ancient limes, but 
now its use is universal. Fu-chien, Hoopih, and Hu-nan produce 



110 ANIMALS WILD AND DOMESTIC. 

the greater part of the black teas ; the green comes chiefly from 
Cheh-chiangaiid An-hui ; both kinds comes from Kwang-tung and 
Sze-chwan. Next to silk, if not equally with it, tea is China's 
most valuable export. From rice and millet the Chinese distill 
alcoholic liquors, but they are very sparingly used and it is a com- 
pliment to the temperate inclinations of the people, that immedi- 
ately upon the opening of tea houses many years ago, the places 
for selling liquor found themselves empty of business and were 
soon compelled to close. 

Birds and animals are found in great variety, though the coun- 
try is too thickly peopled and well cultivated to harbor many 
wild and dangerous beasts. One occasionally hears of a tiger 
that has ventured from the forest and been killed or captured, but 
the lion was never a denizen of China and is only to be seen 
rampant in stone in front of temples. The rhinoceros, elephant, 
and tapir are said still to exist in tlie forests and swamps of Yun- 
nan ; but the supply of elephants at Peking for the carriage of 
the emperor when he proceeds to the great sacrificial altars has 
been decreasing for several reigns. Both the brown and the 
black bear are found, and several varieties of the deer family, of 
which the musk deer is highly valued. Among the domestic 
animals the breed of horses and cattle is dwarfish and no attempts 
seem to be made to improve them. The ass is a more lively 
animal in the north than it is in European countries or America, 
and receives much attention. About Peking one is struck by 
many beautiful specimens of the mule. Princes are seen riding 
on mules, or drawn by them in handsome litters, while their at- 
tendants accompany them on horseback. The camel is seen only 
in the north. Many birds of prey abound, including minos, 
crows, and magpies. The people are fond of songbirds, especially 
the thrush, the canary, and the lark. The lovely gold and silver 
pheasants are well known, and also the mandarin duck, the em- 
blem to the Chinese of conjugal fidelity. Many geese too are 
reared and eaten, while the ducks are artificially hatched. The 
number of pigs is enormous and fish are a plentiful supply of 
food. 

The people are very fond of flowers and are excellent gardeners, 
but their favorites are mostly cultivated in pots instead of in beds. 



AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 



113 



Silk, linen, and cotton furnish abundant provision for the 
clothing of the race. China was no doubt the original home of 
silk. The mulberry tree grows everywhere and silk worms 
flourish as widely. In all provinces some silk is produced, but 
the best is furnished from Kwang-tung, Sze-chwan, and Cheh- 
chiang. From the twenty-third century B. C. and earlier, the 
care of the silk worm and the spinning and weaving of its produce 
have been the special work of women. As it is the duty of the 
sovereign to turn over a few furrows in the spring to stimulate 
the people to their agricultural tasks, so his consort should per- 




CHINESE FARMER. 



form an analogous ceremony with her silk worms and mulberry 
trees. The manufactures of silk are not inferior to or less brill- 
iant than any that are produced in Europe, and nothing can ex- 
ceed the embroidery of the Chinese. The cotton plant appears to 
have been introduced some eight hundred years ago from Eastern 
Turkestan and is now cultivated most extensively in the basin of 
the Chiang River. The well known nankeen is named for Nan- 
king, a center for its manufacture. Of woolen fabrics the pro- 
duction is not large, but there are felt caps, rugs of camels hair 
and furs of various kinds. 



114 MINERAL RESOURCES. 

While the Chinese have done justice to most of the natural 
capabilities of their country, they have greatly failed in develop- 
ing its mineral resources. The skill which their lapidaries display 
in cutting the minerals and jewels is well known, but in the 
development of the utilitarian minerals they have been very 
negligent. The coal fields of China are enormous, but the major- 
ity of them can hardly be said to be more than scratched. Im- 
mense deposits of iron ore are still untouched. Copper, lead, tin, 
silver, and gold are known to exist in many places, but little has 
been done to make the stores of them available. More attention 
has been directed to their mines since their government and com- 
panies began to have steamers of their own and a scheme has been 
approved by the government for working the gold mines in the 
valley of the Amoor River. With the government once conscious 
of its mineral wealth, there is no limit to the results which it may 
bring about. 

The commerce of China with the western nations has been con- 
stantly on the increase for many years. The number of vessels 
entering and clearing at the various treaty ports is now between 
thirty thousand and thirty-five thousand annually, and the value 
of the whole trade, import and export, approximates $300,000,000 
annually. Of course the two principal exports are tea and silk. 
About half of the trade is done by means of vessels under the 
British flag, and nearly half of the remainder are vessels of 
foreign type, but owned by Chinese and sailing under the Chinese 
flag. 

The capitals of the different divisions of the empire are all 
walled cities, and these form a striking feature of the countr}^ 
There are important distinctions between the cities of the third 
class, most of which are designated as hien, a few as cheo and 
others as ting. Though varjdng considerably in size, these differ- 
ent cities present nearly the uniform appearance. They are sur- 
rounded by walls from twenty to thirty-five feet in height, and 
are entered by large arched gateways which open into the 
principal streets and are shut and barred at night. These walls 
are from twenty to twenty-five feet thick at the base and some- 
what narrower at the top. The outside is of solid masonry from 
two to four feet thick, built of hewn stone, or bricks backed with 



THE CITIES OF CHINA. 115 

earth, broken tiles, etc. There is general!}^ a lighter stone facing 
on the inside. The outside is surmounted by a parapet with em- 
brasures generally built of brick. 

The circumferences of the provincial cities vary from eight to 
fifteen miles ; those of the fu cities from four to ten miles, and 
those of the hien cities from two or three to five miles. Some of 
the larger and more important cities contain a smaller one, with 
its separate walls, enclosed within the larger outside walls. This 
is the Tartar or military city. It is occupied exclusively by 
Tartars with their families, forming a colony or garrison, and 
numbering generally several thousand soldiers. In times of in- 
surrection and rebellion the emperor depends principally upon 
these Tartar colonies to hold possession of the cities where they 
are stationed. In such emergencies the inhabitants of these en- 
closed Tartar cities, knowing that their lives and the lives of their 
families are at stake, defend themselves with great desperation. 

The provincial capitals contain an average population of nearly 
one million inhabitants ; the fu cities from one hundred thousand 
to six hundred thousand or even more, while the cities of the 
third class, which are much more numerous, generally contain 
several tens of thousands. The most of these towns of different 
classes have outgrown their walls, and frequently one-fourth or 
even one-third of the inhabitants live in the suburbs, which in 
some cases extend three or four miles outside the walls in differ- 
ent directions. Property is less valuable in these suburbs, not 
only because it is removed from the business parts of the city, 
but also because it is more liable to be destroyed in times of re- 
bellion. All the names to be found on even our largest maps of 
China, are the names of walled cities, and many of those of the 
third class are not down for Avant of space. The total number 
of these cities is more than one thousand seven hundred. From 
the number and size of the cities of China it might be inferred 
that they contain the greater portion of the inhabitants of the 
empire. This is however by no means the case. The Chinese 
are mainly an agricultural people and live for the most part in 
the almost innumerable villages which everywhere dot its fertile 
plains. A detached or isolated farm house is seldom seen. The 
country people live in towns or hamlets for the sake of society 



116 CHARACTERrSTICS OF CHINESE VILLAGES. 

and mutual protection. Most of the cities, even the smaller 
ones, have thousands of these villages under their jurisdiction. 
In the more populous parts of China will frequently be found, 
within a radius of three or four miles, from one hundred and fifty 
to two hundred of these villages. 

The estimate of population made on a previous page gives an 
average population of about three hundred persons to the square 
mile, while that of Belgium and some other European countries 
is greater. Pei'haps no country in the world is more fertile and 
capable of supporting a dense population than China. Every 
available spot of ground is brought under cultivation, and nearly 
all the land is made use of to provide food for man, pasture fields 
being almost unknown. The masses of China eat very little 
animal food, and what they do eat is mostly pork and fowls, the 
raising of which requires little or no waste of ground. The 
comparatively few horses and cattle and sheep which are found 
in the country are kept in stables, or graze upon the hill tops, or 
are tethered by the sides of canals. Taking these facts into con- 
sideration, that an extended and exceedingly fertile country un- 
der the highest state of cultivation, is taxed to its utmost ca- 
pacity to supply the wants of a frugal and industrious people, the 
estimate of population need not excite incredulity. 

Nearly all of the cities marked on our maps of the coast of 
China, are now open ports for traffic and residence of foreigners. 
The most northerly of these is Niuchwang and the most south- 
ern Pak-hoi, while between these familiar names are those of 
Canton, Swatow, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo, Shanghai, Tien-tsin 
and several others. Interior cities that have been opened to 
foreigners include a number on the Chiang River, the one farthest 
inland being I-chang. Peking is also accessible to foreigners ; 
and several ports on the islands of Hainan and Formosa are 
opened by treaty. The population of these cities cannot be told 
with much exactness, as the Chinese census can scarcely claim 
accuracy. But the largest cities, such as Canton and Peking, are 
generally credited, in common with several others even smaller, 
with passing the million mark. 

The Chinese government is one of the great wonders of history. 
It presents to-day the same character which it possessed more 



118 THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 

lliaii three thousand years ago, and which it has retained ever 
since, during a period which covers the authentic history of the 
world. The government may be described as being in theory a 
patriarclial despotism. The emperor is the father of his people, 
and just as in a family the father's law is supreme, so the emperor 
exercises complete control over his subjects, even to the extent of 
holding, under certain recognized conditions, their lives in his 
hands. But from time immemorial it has been held by the high- 
est constitutional authorities that the duties existing between the 
emperor and his people are reciprocal, and that though it is the 
duty of the people to render a loyal and willing obedience to the 
emperor, so long as his rule is just and beneficent, it is equally 
incumbent upon them to resist his authority, to depose him, and 
even to put him to death, in case he should desert the paths of 
rectitude and virtue. 

As a matter of fact however, it is very difficult to say what ex- 
tent of power the emperor actually wields. The outside world 
sees only the imperial bolts, but how they are forged or whose is 
the hand that shoots them none can tell. The most common 
titles of the emperor are Hwang- Shang, " The August Lofty 
One," and Tien-Tsz, " The Son of Heaven." He lives in unap- 
proachable grandeur, and is never seen except by members of his 
own family and high state officers, save once a year when he gives 
audience to few foreign diplomats. Nothing is omitted whicli 
can add to the dignity and sacredness of his person or character. 
Almost everything used by him or in his service is tabooed from 
the common people, and distinguished by some peculiar mark or 
color so as to keep up the impression of awe with which he is re- 
garded, and which is so powerful an auxiliary to his throne. The 
outward gate of the palace must always be passed on foot, and the 
paved entrance walk leading up to it can be used only by him. 
The vacant throne, or even a screen of yellow silk thrown over a 
chair, is worshipped equally with his actual presence, and an im- 
perial dispatch is received in the provinces with incense and pros- 
tration. 

The throne is not strictly and necessarily hereditary, though 
the son of the emperor generally succeeds to it. The emperor 
appoints his successor, but it is supposed that in doing so he will 



■v^'V-* ■■■■ A 



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I— I 
O 
2: 

O 
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120 POSITION OF THE EMPEROR. 

have supreme regard for the best good of his subjects, and will be 
governed by the will of heaven, indicated by the conferring of 
regal gifts, and by providential circumstances pointing out tlje in- 
dividual vi^hom heaven has chosen. Of course in the case of un- 
usually able men, such as the second and fourth r,ulers of the 
present dynasty, their influence is more felt than that of less 
energetic rulers ; but the throne of China is so hedged in with 
ceremonials and so padded with official etiquette that unless its 
occupant be a man of supreme ability he cannot fail to fall under 
the guidance of his ministers and favorites. In governing so 
large a realm, of course it is necessary for the emperor to delegate 
his authority to numerous officers who are regarded as his agents 
and representatives in carrying out the imperial will. What they 
do the emperor does through them. The recognized patriarchal 
character of the government is seen in the familiar expressions of 
the people, particularly at times when they consider themselves 
injured or aggrieved by their officers, when they are apt to say, 
"A strange way for parents to treat their children." 

The government of the empire, omitting the regulation of the 
im[)erial court and family, or the special Manchoo department, is 
conducted from the capital, supervising, directing, controlling the 
diffeient provincial administrations, and exercising the power of 
removijig from his post any official whose conduct may be irregular 
or dangerous to the state. 

There is the Grand Cabinet, the privy council of the emperor, 
in whose presence it meets daily to transact the business of the 
state, between the hours of 4;00 and 6:00 A. M. Its members are 
few and hold other offices. There is also the Grand Secretariat, 
formerly the supreme council, but under the present dynasty very 
much superseded by the Cabinet. It consists of four grand and 
two assistant grand secretaries, half of them Manchoos and half 
Chinese. The business on which the Cabinet deliberates comes 
before it from the six boards or Luh-pu. These are departments 
of long standing in the government, having been modeled on 
much the same plan during the ancient dynasties. At the head 
of each board are two presidents, called Shang-shu, and four vice- 
presidents called Shi-lang, alternately a Manchoo and a Chinese. 
There are three subordinate grades of officers in each board, 







CD 

w 










GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCES. 123 

with a great number of minor clerks, and their appropriate de- 
partments for conducting the details of the general and peculiar 
business coming under the cognizance of the board, the ^Yhole 
being arranged in the most business-like style. 

The six boards are respectively of Civil Office, of Revenue, of 
Ceremonies, of War, of Punishments, and of Works. In 1861 
the changed relations between the empire and foreign nations led 
to the formation of v^^hat may be called a seventh board styled 
the Tsung-li Yamen, or Court of Foreign Affairs. There is also 
another important department which must be mentioned, the 
ceusorate, members of which exercise a supervision over the 
board, and are entrusted with the duty of exposing errors and 
crimes in every department of government. Distributed through 
the provinces thej^ memorialize the emperor on all subjects con- 
nected with the welfare of the people and the conduct of the 
government. Sometimes they do not shrink even from the dan- 
gerous task of criticising the conduct of the emperor himself. 

The different boards are all charged with the superintendence 
of the affairs of the eighteen provinces into which the empire is 
divided. Fifteen of these provinces are grouped into eight vice- 
royalties, and the remaining three are administered by a governor. 
Each province is autonomous, or nearly so, and the supreme 
authorities, whether viceroys or governors, are practically inde- 
pendent so long as they act in accordance with the very minute 
regulations laid down for their guidance. The principal function 
of the Peking government is to see that these regulations are 
carried out, and in case they should not be to call the offending 
viceroy or governor to account. Below the governor-general or 
governor of a province, are the lieutenant-governor, commonly 
called the treasurer, the provincial judge, the salt-comptroller, 
and the grain-intendant. The provinces are further divided for 
the purposes of administration into prefectures, departments, and 
districts. Each has its officers, magistrates, and a whole host of 
petty underlings. The rank of the different officials in these 
provinces is indicated by a knob or button on the top of their 
caps. In the two highest it is made of red coral ; in the third it 
is clear blue ; in the fourth it is lapis lazuli ; in the fifth of crys- 
tal ; in the sixth of an opaque white stone ; and in the three 



124 EXTORTION OF THE OFFICIALS. 

lowest it is yellow, of gold or gilt. They also wear insignia or 
badges embroidered on a t^qiiarc patch in the front or back of 
their robes, representing birds on the civilians and animals on the 
military officers. 

Each viceroy raises his own army and navy, which he pays, or 
sometimes unfortunately does not pay, out of the revenues of the 
government. He levies his own taxes, and except in particular 
cases is the final court of appeal in all judicial matters within 
the limits of his rule. But in return for this latitude allowed 
him, he is lield personally responsible for the good government 
(;f his territory. If by any chance serious disturbances break 
out and continue unsuppressed, he is called to account, as having 
by his misconduct contributed to them, and he in his turn looks 
to his subordinates to maintain order and execute justice within 
iheir jurisdiction. Of himself he has no power to remove or 
punish subordinate officials, but has to refer all complaints against 
them to Peking. The personal responsibility resting upon him 
of maintaining order makes him a severe critic on those who 
serve under him, and very frequently junior officials are im- 
peached and punished at the instigation of their chief. Incapable 
and unworthy officials, constant opium smokers, those who mis- 
appropriate public money, and those who fail to arrest criminals, 
are those who meet swift punishment. On the whole the con- 
duct of junior officials is carefully watched. 

As has been already said, the affairs of each province are ad- 
ministered by the viceroy, or governor, and his subordinates, and 
speakiug generally their rule is as enlightened and as just as 
could be expected in an oriental country where public opinion 
finds only a very imperfect utterance. Official purity and justice 
must be treated as comparative terms in China. The constitu- 
tion of the civil service reiiders it next to impossible that any 
office holder can be clean-handed. The salaries awarded are low, 
out of all proportion to the necessary expenses pertaining to the 
ofiQces to which they are apportioned, and the consequence is that 
in some way or other the officials are compelled to make up the 
deficiency from the pockets of those subject to them. As a rule, 
mandarins seldom enter office with private fortunes, and the 
wealth therefore, which soothes the declining years of veteran ' 



126 



EXTORTION OF THE OFFICIALS. 



officials, may be fairly assumed to be ill-gotten gain. There are 
laws against these exactions, and very often some magistrate is 
degraded or executed for levying illegal assessments. The im- 
munity which some mandarins enjoy from the just consequences 
of their crimes, and the severity with which the law is vindicated 




THE GOVERNOR OF A PROVINCE. 



in the cases of others for much lighter offenses, has a sinister as- 
pect. But in a system of which bribery and corruption practi- 
cally form a part, one need not expect to find purity in any direc- 
tion. And it is not too much to say that the whole civil service 
is, judged by an American standard, corrupt to the core. The 
people however are lightly taxed and they readily submit to lim- 



FEW MANDARINS ARE REGRETTED. 129 

ited extortion so long as the rule of the mandarin is otherwise 
just and beneficent. 

How rarely does a mandarin earn the respect and affection of 
the people is obvious from the great parade which is made on the 
departure from their posts of the very occasional officials who 
are fortunate enough to have done so. Archdeacon Gray relates 
that during his residence of a quarter of a century at Canton he 
only met one man who had entitled himself to the regret of the 
people at his departure. V/hen the time came for this man to 
leave the city, the people rose in multitudes to do him honor and 
begged for him to return if he could. A somewhat similar scene 
occurred at Tien-tsin in 1861, on the departure of the most be- 
nevolent prefect that the city had ever seen. The people accom- 
panied hiin beyond the gate on his road to Peking with every 
token of honor and finally begged from him his boots, which they 
carried back in triumph and hung up as a memento in the temple 
of the city god. Going to the opposite extreme, it sometimes 
happens that the people, goaded into rebellion by a sense of 
wrong, rise in arms against some particularly obnoxious man- 
darin and drive him from the district. But the Chinese are 
essentially unwarlike, and it must be some act of gross oppres- 
sion to stir their blood to fever heat. 

A potent means of protection against oppression is granted to 
the people by the appointment of imperial censors throughout 
the empire, whose duty it is to report to the throne all cases of 
misrule, injustice, or neglect on the part of the mandarins -which 
come to their knowledge. The same tolerance which is shown 
by the people towards the shortcomings and ill deeds of the 
officials, is displayed by these men in the discharge of their 
duties. Only aggravated cases make them take their pens in 
hand, but when they do, it must be confessed that they show 
little mercy. Neither are they respecters of persons ; their lash 
falls alike on all from the emperor on his throne to the police- 
runners in magisterial courts. Nor is their plain speaking more 
amazing than the candor with which their memorials affecting 
the characters of great and small alike are published in the Pe- 
king Gazette. The gravest charges, such as of peculation, neg- 
lect of duty, injustice, or incompetence, are brought against 



130 



CRUELTIES m THE COURTS. 



mandarins of all ranks and are openly published in the official 
paper. 

In the administration of justice the same lax morality as in 
other branches of government exists, and bribery is largely re- 
sorted to by litigants, more especially in civil cases. As a rule 
money in excess of the legal fees has in the first instance to be 
paid to clerks and secretaries before a case can be put down for 
hearing, and a decision of the presiding mandarin is too often in- 
fluenced by the sums of money which find their way into his 




PUNISHMENT BY THE GANGUE. 

purse from the pockets of either suitor. But the greatest blot on 
Chinese administration is the inhumanity shown to both culprits 
and witnesses in criminal procedure. Tortures of the most pain- 
ful and revolting kind are used to extort evidence, and punish- 
ments scarcely more severely cruel are inflicted on the guilty 
parties. Flogging with bamboos, beating the jaws with thick 
pieces of leather, or the ankles with a stick, are some of the pre- 
liminary tortures applied to witnesses or culprits who refuse to 
give the evidence expected of them. Further refinements of 



HORRORS OF PUNISHMENT. 



131 



cruelty are reserved for hardened offenders by means of which 
infinite pain and often permanent injury are inflicted. 

It follows as a natural consequence that in a country where 
torture is thus resorted to the punishments inflicted on criminals 
must be proportionately cruel. Death, the final punishment, can 
unfortunately be inflicted in various ways, and a sliding scale of 
capital punishments is used by the Chinese to mark their sense 
of the varying heinousness of murderous crimes. For parricide, 
matricide and wholesale murders, the usual sentence is that of 




FLOGGING A CULPRIT. 



Ling-che, or " ignominious and slow death." In the carrying out 
of this sentence the culprit is fastened to a cross, and cuts varying 
in number, at the discretion of the judge, from eight to one liun- 
dred and tv/enty are made first on the face and fleshy parts of the 
body, next the heart is pierced, and finally when death has been 
thus caused, the limbs are separated from the body and divided. 
During a recent year ten cases in which this punishment was in- 
flicted were reported in the official Peking Gazette. In ordinary 
casQS of capital punishment execution by beheading is the com- 



132 HORRORS OF PUNISHMENT. 

mon mode. This is a speedy and merciful death, the skill gained 
by frequent experience enabling the executioner in almost every 
case to perform his task with one blow. Another death which is 
less liorrible to Chinamen, who view any mutilation of the body 
as an extreme disgrace, is by strangulation. The privilege of so 
passing out of the world is accorded at times to influential crimi- 
nals, whose crimes are not of so heinous a nature as to demand their 
decapitation ; and occasionally they are even allowed to be their 
own executioners. 

Asiatics are almost invariably careless about the sufferings of 
others, and the men of China are no exception to the rule. It is 
almost impossible to exaggerate the horrors of a Chinese prison. 
The filth and dirt of the rooms, the brutality of the jailers, the 
miserable diet, and the entire absence of the commonest sanitary 
arrangements make a picture which is too horrible to draw in 
detail. 

Chinese law-givers have distinguished very markedly between 
crimes accompanied and unaccompanied with violence. For 
offenses of the latter description, punishments of a comparatively 
light nature are inflicted, such as wearing a wooden collar, and 
piercing the ears with arrows, to the ends of which are attached 
slips of paper on which are inscribed the crime of which the cul- 
prit has been guilty. Frequently the ciiminals bearing these 
signs of their disgrace are paraded up and down the street where 
their offense was committed, and sometimes in more serious cases 
they are flogged through the leading thoroughfares of the city, 
preceded by a herald who announces the nature of their mis- 
demeanors. But to give a list of Chinese punishments will be to 
exhaust the ingenuity of man to torture his fellow creatures. 
The subject is a horrible one and it is a relief to turn from the 
dingy prison gates and the halls of so-called justice. 

After this review of the impersonal, and the material, and the 
official character of the Chinese empire as a nation, let us now 
turn to the more personal consideration of the people themselves, 
their characteristics, and their manner of life and thought. 




OUTSIDE PEKING. 
From a Sketch. 



THE CHINESE PEOPLE. 



Severity of the Judgment of Americans and Chinese A};aiiist One Another— Each Sees 
the Worst Side of the Other— Cliaracteristics of the Chinese, Tlieir Physique, Temperament, 
and Morals— Tests of Intellectuality— Marriage Customs of the Chinese— The Engagement— 
The Wedding Ceremony— The Position of Women— Concubinage— Divorce— Family Relation- 
ships— Dress of Men and Women— Distorted Feet versus Queues-Chinese Houses and Home 
Life— Children— Education and Schools— National Festivities— Music and Art— Chinese 
Religions- Language and Literature. 

In treating of the personal cliaracteristics and customs of the 
Chinese people it is the desire of the writer to get away from the 
hackneyed descriptions of pigtails, shaven heads, thick soled 
shoes, assum})tion of dignity and superiority, and great ignorance 
concerning many subjects with wliich we are familiar, which 
usually mark the pages of articles and books concerning this race. 
The Chinaman is believed by many to be the personification of 
stupidity, and many writers who wish to make readable matter 
gladly seize upon and exaggerate anything which can be made to 
appear grotesque and ridiculous. It would be but a poor answer 
to these views to say tliat they correspond remarkably with those 
which the Chinese entertain of us. They also enjoy a great deal 
of pleasantry at our expense, finding it almost impossible to re- 
gard otlierwise than as ludicrous our short cropped hair, tight fit- 
ting, ungraceful, and uncomfortable looking clothes, men's thin 
soled leather shoes, tall stiff hats, gloves in summer time, the 
wasp-like appearance of ladies with their small waists, our remark- 
able ignorance of the general rules of propriety, and the strange 
custom of a man and his wife walking together in public ! These 
views we can afford to laugh at as relating to comparatively 
trivial matters, but they think they have the evidence that we 
are also inferior to them in intellectuality, in refinement, in civili- 
zation, and especially morals. It is evident that one party or the 
other has made a serious mistake, and it would be but a natural 
and reasonable presumption that both may have erred to some 
extent. We should look at this matter from an impartial stand- 
point, and take into view not simply facts which are compara- 

(136) 



136 CHINA VERSUS THE UNITED STATES. 

tively unimportant and exceptional, but those which are fiinda- 
mental and of widespread influence, and should construe these 
facts justly and generously. We should take pains not to form 
the judgment that because a people or a custom is different from 
our own it is therefore necessarily worse. 

There are many reasons why unfair judgments have been 
formed by us against the Chinese and by the Chinese against 
Europeans and Americans. Each nation is apt to see the worst 
side of the other. It so happens that the Chinese who have 
come to America are almost all from the southern provinces and 
from the lower classes of the worst part of the empire. We have 
formed many of our impressions from our observation of these 
low class adventurers. They on the other hand have not received 
the treatment here which would cause them to carry back to 
China kindly opinions of Americans. 

In China the same or similar conditions have existed. In the 
open ports, where a large foreign commerce has sprung up, an 
immense number of Chinese congregate from the interior. Many 
of them are adventurers who come to these places to engage in 
the general scramble for wealth. The Chinamen of the best class 
are, as a matter of fact, not the most numerous in the open ports. 
Moreover foreign ideas and customs prevail to a great extent in 
these foreign communities, and the natives, whatever they might 
have been originally, gradually become more or less denational- 
ized, and present a modified type of their race. The Chinese be- 
ing every day brought into contact with drunken sailors and' un- 
scrupulous traders from the west, new lessons are constantly 
learned from them in the school of duplicity and immorality. 
The Chinese of this class are no fitting type of the race. It is an 
accepted fact that the great seaports of the world, where inter- 
national trade holds sway, are the worst centers of vice, and no 
estimate of a people formed from these cities can be just. 

The Chinese as a race are of a phlegmatic and impassive tem- 
perament, and physically less active and energetic than European 
and American nations. Children are not fond of athletic and 
vigorous sports, but prefer marbles, kite flying, and quiet games 
of ball or spinning tops. Men take an easy stroll for recreation, 
but never a rapid walk for exercise and are seldom in a hurrv or 



RACIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHINESE. 137 

excited. They are also cbaracteristically timid and docile. But 
while the Chinese are deficient in active courage and daring, they 
are not in passive resistance. They are comparatively apathetic 
as regards pain and death, and have great powers of physical en- 
durance as well as great persistency and obstinacy. Physical 
development and strength and longevity vary in different parts 
of the empire. In and about Canton, as well as in most parts of 
the south, from which we have derived most of our impressions 
of China, the people are small in stature ; but in the province of 
Shan-tung in the north, men varying in height from five feet 
eight inches to six feet are very common, while some of them are 
considerably taller. In this part of China too, one frequently 
finds laborers more than seventy years of age working daily at 
their trades, and it is not unusual to hear of persons who have 
reached the age of ninety or more. 

The intellectuality of the Chinese is made evident by so many 
obvious and weighty facts, that it seems strange that persons of 
ordinary intelligence and information should ever have ques- 
tioned it. We have before us a system of government and code 
of laws which will bear favorable comparison with those of 
European nations, and have elicited a generous tribute of admira- 
tion and praise from the most competent students. The practical 
wisdom and foresight of those who constructed this system are 
evidenced by the fact that it has stood the test of time, enduring 
longer than any other which man has devised during the world's 
history ; that it has bound together under one common rule, a 
population to which the world affords no parallel, and given a de- 
gree of prosperity and wealth which may well challenge our won- 
der. It is intelligent thought which has given China such a 
prominence in the east and also in the eyes of Christendom. She 
may well point with pride to her authentic history reaching back 
through more than thirty centuries ; to her extensive literature, 
containing many works of sterling and permanent value ; to her 
thoroughly elaborated language possessed of a remarkable power 
of expression ; to her list of scholars, and her proficiency in belles- 
lettres. If these do not constitute evidences of intellectuality, it 
would be difficult to say where such evidences could be found, or 



138 LACK OF MODERN KNOWLEDGE. 

on what basis we ourselves will rest our claim of intellectual 
superiority. 

China has been so arrogant and extravagant in her assumptions 
of pre-eminence, that we have perhaps for this very reason been 
indisposed to accord to her the position to which she is fairly en- 
titled. It should be remembered, that ignorant until recently of 
western nations, as they have been of her, she has compared her- 
self simply with the nations around her, and a partial excuse for 
her overweening self conceit may be found in the fact that she 
only regarded herself as the nations with which she is acquainted 
have regarded her. She has been for ages the great center of 
light and civilization in eastern Asia. She has given literature 
and religion to Japan, to Corea, and to Manchooria, and has been 
looked up to by these and other smaller nations as their acknowl- 
edged teacher. The Japanese have produced no great teachers 
or sages which they would presume to compare with those of 
China ; and it is clearest evidence of their acknowledgment of the 
literary superiority of the Chinese that they use Chinese classics 
as text books in their schools much as we do those of Greece and 
Rome. It is true that the Chinese know hardly anything of the 
modern arts and sciences ^nd that there is no word in their lan- 
guage to designate some of them ; but how much did our ancestors 
know two hundred years ago of chemistry, geology, philosophy, 
anatomy, and other kindred sciences. What did we know fiftv 
years ago of the steamboat, the railroad, and the telegraph? And 
is our comparative want of knowledge a few years ago and that 
of our ancestors to be taken as evidence of inferiority of race and 
intellect? Furthermore, if we go back a few hundred years we 
are apt to find many things to establish the claims of the Chinese 
as a superior rather than inferior race. There are excellent 
grounds to credit the Chinese with the invention or discovery of 
printing, the use of the magnetic needle, the manufacture and use 
of gunpowder, of silk fabrics, and of chinaware and porcelain, and 
there seems no doubt that the Chinese discovered America from 
the westward, long before the discoveries of Europeans. 

Intellectual power manifests itself in a variety of ways, and 
glaring defects are often found associated in the same individual 
with remarkable powers and capabilities, as particular faculties 



MORALITY OF THE CHINESE. 139 

both of mind and body are often cultivated and developed at the 
expense of others. Chinese education has very little regard to 
the improvement of the reasoning powers, and Chinese scholars 
are deficient in logical acumen and very inferior to the Hindoos 
in this respect; but in developing and storing the memory they 
are without a rival. Again their system of training effectually 
discourages and precludes freedom and originality of thouglit, 
while it has the compensating advantages of creating a love of 
method and order, habitual subjection to authority, and a remark- 
able uniformity in character and ideas. Perhaps the results 
which they have realized in fusing such a vast mass of beings 
into one homogeneous body, could have been reached in no other 
way. 

The morality of the Chinese presents another subject about 
which there is a wdde difference of opinion. It may be a matter 
of interest and profit to turn for a moment to the views which 
the Chinese generally entertain of our morality, and their reasons 
for these views. They are all familiar with the fact that foreign- 
ers introduced opium into China, in opposition to the earnest and 
persistent remonstrances of the Chinese government ; that out of 
the opium trade grew the first war with China; and that when 
the representatives of Christian England urged the Chinese gov- 
ernment to legalize the trade and make it a source of revenue, 
the Chinese emperor replied that he would not use as a means of 
revenue that which brought suffering and misery upon his people. 

The Ciiinese form their opinions of western morality to a great 
extent from the sailors on shore-leave at the open ports, and 
these men are proverbially vicious under such circumstances. 
For years foreigners of this class have commanded many of the 
piratical fleets on the coasts of China, and foreign thieves and 
robbers have infested many of the inland canals and rivers. In 
business dealings with strangers from western lands the natives 
find that duplicity and dishonesty are not confined to their own 
people. Replying to our criticism of the system of concubinage, 
the Chinese point to the numerous class of native women in the 
foreign communities, fostered and patronized by foreigners alone, 
who appear in the streets with an effrontery which would be re- 
garded as utterly indecent and intolerable in most Chinese cities. 



140 TWO ENGLISH OPINIONS. 

The large importation from Europe of obscene pictures which are 
offered at every hand, is another fact which the educated Chinese 
cites in answer to criticisms of his people's morality. 

On the general subject of morality and Chinese moral teach- 
ing, two quotations from the writings of eminent Englishmen 
who lived in China for many years are pertinent. Sir John 
Davis says : " The most commendable feature of the Chinese 
system is the general diffusion of elementary moral education 
among the lower orders. It is in the preference of moral to 
physical instruction that even we might perhaps wisely take a 
leaf out of the Chinese book, and do something to reform this 
most mechanical age of ours.'' The opinion of Thomas Taylor 
Meadows is thus expressed : " No people whether of ancient or 
modern times has possessed a sacred literature so completely ex- 
empt as the Chinese from licentious descriptions and from every 
offensive expression. There is not a single sentence in the whole 
of their sacred books and their annotations that may not when 
translated word for word be read aloud in any family in En- 
gland." 

It must be acknowledged that the Chinese give many evidences, 
not only in their literature, but also in their paintings and sculp- 
ture, of a scrupulous care to avoid all indecent and immoral asso- 
ciations and suggestions. In referring to the above peculiarity 
of Chinese views and customs, these remarks are not, of course, 
concerning the private lives and practices of the people, but of 
their standard of propriety and of what the public taste requires, 
in objects which are openly represented to be seen and admired 
by the young and old of both sexes. 

The government of the empire is modeled on the government 
of a household, and at the root of all family ties, says one of the 
Chinese classics, is the relation of husband and wife, which is as 
the relation of heaven and earth. Chinese historians record that 
the rite of marriage was first instituted by the Emperor Fuh-he, 
who reigned in the twenty-eighth century B. C. But before 
this period there is abundant evidence to show that as amongst 
all other peoples the first form of marriage was by capture. At 
the present day marriage is probably more universal in China 
than in any other civilized country in the world, for it is regarded 



PRELIMINARIES TO MARRIAGE. 141 

as something indispensable and few men pass the age of twenty 
without taking to themselves a wife. To die without leaving be- 
hind a son to perform the burial rites and to offer up the fixed 
periodical sacrifices at the tomb, is one of the most direful fates 
that can overtake a Chinaman, and he seeks to avoid it by an 
early marriage. 

Like every other rite in China that of marriage is fenced in 
with a host of ceremonies. In a vast majority of cases the bride- 
groom never sees his bride until the wedding night, it being con- 
sidered a grave breach of etiquette for young men and maidens 
to associate together or even to see one another. Of course it 
does occasionally happen that either by stealth or chance a pair 
become acquainted; but whether they have thus associated, or 
whether they are perfect strangers, the first formal overture must 
of necessity be made by a professional go-between, who having 
received a commission from the parents of a young man, proceeds 
to the house of the young woman and makes a formal proposal 
on behalf of the would-be bridegroom's parents. If the young 
lady's father approves the proposed alliance, the suitor sends the 
lady some presents as an earnest of his intentions. 

The parents next exchange documents which set forth the 
hour, day, month, and year when the young people were born^ 
and the maiden names of their mothers. Astrologers are then 
called in to cast the horoscopes, and should these be favorable 
the engagement is formally entered into, but not so irrevocably 
that there are not several orthodox ways of breaking it off. But 
should things go smoothly, the bridegroom's father writes a 
formal letter of agreement to the lady's father, accompanied by 
presents, consisting in some cases of sweetmeats and a live pig, 
and in others of a goose and gander, which are regarded as em- 
blems of conjugal fidelity. Two large cards are also prepared 
by the bridegroom, and on these are written the particulars of 
the engagement. One is sent to the lady and the other he keeps. 
She in return now makes a present to the suitor according to his 
rank and fortune. Recourse is then again had to astrologers to 
fix a fortunate day for the final ceremony, on the evening of 
which the bridegroom's best man proceeds to the house of the 
lady and conducts her to her future home in a red sedan chair, 



142 DESCRIPTION OF THE WEDDING CEREMONY. 

accompanied by musicians who enliven the procession by wedding 
airs. At the door of the house the bride alights from her sedan, 
and is lifted over a pan of burning charcoal laid on the threshold 
by two "women of luck," whose husbands and children must be 
living. 

In the reception room the bridegroom awaits his bride on a 
raised dais, at the foot of which she humbly prostrates herself. 
He then descends to her level, and removing her veil gazes on her 
face for the first time. Without exchanging a word they seat 
themselves side by side, and each tries to sit on a part of the 
dress of the other, it being considered that the one who succeeds 
in so doing will liold rule in the household. This trial of skill 
over, the pair proceed to the hall, and there before the family 
altar worship heaven and earth and their ancestors. They then 
go to dinner in their apartment, through the open door of which 
the guests scrutinize and make their remarks on the appearance 
and demeanor of the bride. This ordeal is the more trying to 
her, since etiquette forbids her to eat anything, a prohibition 
which is not shared by tlie bridegroom, who enjoys the dainties 
provided as his appetite may suggest. The attendants next hand 
to each in turn a cup of wine, and having exchanged pledges, the 
wedding ceremonies come to an end. In some parts of the coun- 
try it is customary for the bride to sit up late into the night an- 
swering riddles which are propounded to her by the guests ; in 
other parts it is usual for her to show herself for a time in the 
hall, whither her husband does not accompany her, as it is con- 
trary to etiquette for a husband and wife ever to appear together 
in public. For the same reason she goes to pay the customary 
visit to her parents on the third day after the wedding alone, and 
for the rest of her wedded life she enjoys the society of her hus- 
band only in the privacy of her apartments. 

The lives of women in China, and especially of married women, 
are such as to justify the wish often expressed by them that in 
their next state of existence they may be born men. Even if in 
their baby days they escape the infanticidal tendencies of their 
parents, they are regarded as secondary considerations compared 
with their brothers. The philosophers from Confucius downward 
have all agreed in assigning them an inferior place to men. 




DISCIPLINE ON THE MARCH, IN THE CHINESE ARMY. 



THE POSITION OF WOMEN. 145 

When the time comes for them to marry, custom requires them 
in nine cases out of ten, as we have seen, to take a leap in the 
dark, and that wife is fortunate wh;) finds in her Jiusband a con- 
genial and faithful companion. 

There is but one proper wife in the family, but there is no law 
against a man's having secondary wives or concubines ; and such 
connections are common enough wherever the means of a family 
are sufficient for their support. Tlie concubine occupies in the 
family an inferior position to the wife, and her children, if she 
has any, belong by law to the wife. 

There are seven legal grounds for divorcing a wife : disobedi- 
ence to her husband's parents ; not giving birth to a son ; Disso- 
lute conduct ; jealousy ; talkativeness ; thieving, and leprosy. 
These grounds however may be nullified by " the three considera- 
tions : " If her parents be dead ; if she has passed with her hus- 
band through the years of mourning for his parents ; and if he 
has become rich from being poor. 

So many are the disabilities of married women, that many girls 
prefer going into nunneries or even committing suicide to trust- 
ing their future to men of whom they can know nothing but from 
the interested reports of the go-between. 

The re-marriage of widows is regarded as an impropriety, and 
in wealthy families is seldom practiced. But among the poorer 
classes necessity often compels a widow to seek another bread 
winner. Some, however, having been unfortunate in their first 
matrimonial venture, refuse to listen to any proposal for a re-mar- 
riage, and like the young girls mentioned above seek escape by 
death from the importunities of relatives who desire to get them 
off their hands. A reverse view of matrimonial experiences is 
suggested by the practice of wives refusing to survive their hus- 
bandSi and putting a voluntary end to their existence rather than 
live to mourn their loss. Such devotion is regarded by the people 
with great approbation and a deed of suicide is generally per- 
formed in public and with great punctiliousness. 

The picture here given of married life in China has been nec- 
essarily darkly shaded, since it is, as a rule, onl}^ in its unfortu- 
nate phases, that it affords opportunity for remark. Without 
doubt there are many hundreds of thousands of families in China 



146 HOME LIFE OF WOMEN. 

which are entirely happy. Happiness is after all a relative term, 
and Chinese women, knowing no higher status, are as a rule con^ 
tent to run the risk of wrongs which would be unendurable to an 
American woman, and to find happiness under conditions which 
are fortunately unknown in western countries. 

The family tie in China is strong and the people are clannish. 
They seldom change their place of residence and most of them 
live where their ancestors have lived for many generations. One 
will frequently find the larger portion of a small village bearing 
the same name, in which case the village often takes its name 
from the family. Books on filial piety and the domestic relations 
recommend sons not to leave their parents when married, but to 
live together lovingly and harmoniously as one family. This 
theory is carried out in practice to some extent, in most instances. 
In the division of property some regard is had to primogeniture, 
but different sons share nearly equally. The eldest simply has a 
somewhat larger portion and certain household relics and valu- 
ables. 

The position of woman is intermediate between that which she 
occupies in Christian and in other non-Christian countries. The 
manner in which they regard their lot may be inferred from the 
fact related on a previous page, that the most earnest desire and 
prayer in worshipping in Buddhist temples is, generally, that they 
may be men in the next state of existence. In many families 
girls have no individual names, but are simply called No. One, 
Two, Three, Four, etc. When married they are Mr. So-and-so's 
wife, and when they have sons they are such-and-such a boy's 
mother. They live in a great measure secluded, take no part in 
general society, and are expected to retire when a stranger or an 
acquaintance of the opposite sex enters the house. The claim of 
one's parents and brothers upon his affections is considered to be 
paramount to that of his wife. A reason given for this doctrine 
in a celebrated Chinese work is that the loss of a brother is irrep- 
arable but that of a wife is not. Women are treated with more 
respect and consideration as they advance in years; mothers are 
regarded with great affection and tenderness, and grandmothers 
are sometimes almost worshipped. It must be further said tliafc 
the Chinese Iiave found the theory of inferiority of women a very 



STYLE OF MEN'S DRESS. 147 

difficult one to carry out in practice. There are many families in 
which the superiority of her will and authority is sufficiently 
manifest, even though not cheerfully acknowledged. 

The rules and conventionalities which regulate social life are 
exceedingly minute and formal. Politeness is a science, and 
gracefulness of manners a study and discipline. The people are 
hospitable and generous to a fault, their desire to appear well in 
these respects often leading them to expenditures entirely dis- 
proportionate to their means. 

When under the influence of passion, quarrels arise, the 
women resort to abuse in violent language, extreme in proportion 
to the length of time during which the feelings which prompted 
them have been restrained. Men bluster and threaten in a man- 
ner quite frightful to those unaccustomed to it, but seldom come 
to blows. In cases of deep resentment the injured party often 
adopts a mode of revenge which is very characteristic. Instead 
of killing the object of his hate, he kills himself on the doorstep 
of his enemy, thereby casting obloquy and the stigma of murder 
on the adversary. 

In matters of dress, with one or two exceptions, the Chinese 
must be acknowledged to have used a wise discretion. They 
wear nothing that is tight fitting, and make a greater difference 
between their summer and winter clothing than is customary 
among ourselves. The usual dress of a coolie in summer is a 
loose fitting pair of cotton trousers and an equally loose jacket; 
but the same man in winter will be seen wearing quilted cotton 
clothes, or if he should be an inhabitant of the northern provinces 
a sheepskin robe, superadded to an abundance of warm clothing 
intermediate between it and his shirt. By the wealthier classes 
silk, satin, and gauze are much worn in the summer, and woolen 
or handsome fur clothes in the winter. Among such people it is 
customary except in the seclusion of their homes, to wear both 
in summer and winter long tunics coming down to the ankles. 

In summer non-official Chinamen leave their heads uncovered, 
but do not seem to suffer any inconvenience from the great heat. 
On the approach of summer an edict is issued fixing the day 
upon which the summer costume is to be adopted throughout the 
empire, and again as winter draws near, the time for putting on 



148 WOMAN'S DRESS. 

winter dress is announced in the same formal manner. Fine 
straw or bamboo forms the material of the summer hat, the out- 
side of which is covered with line silk. At this season also the 
thick silk robes and the heavy padded jackets worn in winter are 
exchanged for light silk or satin tunics. The winter cap has a 
turned-up brim and is covered with satin with a black cloth lin- 
ing, and as in the case of the summer cap a tassel of red silk 
covers the entire crown. 

The wives of mandarins wear the same embroidered insignia 
on their dresses as their husbands, and their style of dress as 
well as that of Chinese women generally bears a resemblance to 
that of the men. They wear a loose fitting tunic which reaches 
below the knee, and trousers which are drawn in at the ankle 
after the bloomer fashion. On state occasions they wear a richly 
embroidered petticoat coming down to the feet, which hangs 
square both before and behind and is pleated at the sides like a 
Highlander's kilt. The mode of doing the hair varies in almost 
every province. At Canton the women plaster their back hair 
into the shape of a teapot handle, and adorn the sides with pins 
and ornaments, while the young girls proclaim their unmarried 
state by sutting their hair in fringe across their foreheads after a 
fashion not unknown among ourselves. In most parts of the 
country, flowers, natural when obtainable and artificial when not 
so, are largely used to deck out the head dresses, and consider- 
able taste is shown in the choice of colors and the manner in 
which they are arranged. 

Thus far there is nothing to find fault with in female fashions 
in China, but the same cannot be said of the way in which they 
treat their faces and feet. In many countries the secret art of 
removing traces of the ravages of time with the appliances of the 
toilet table has been and is practised ; but by an extravagant 
and hideous use of pigments and cosmetics, the Chinese girl not 
only conceals the fresh complexion of youth, but produces those 
very disfigurements which furnish the only possible excuse for 
artificial complexions. Their poets also have declared tl:iat a 
woman's eyebrows should be arched like a rainbow or shaped 
like a willow leaf, and the consequence is that wishing to act up 
to the idea thus pictured, China women with the aid of tweezers 



o 
o 




COMPRESSION OF WOMAN'S FEET. 



151 



remove all the hairs of their eyebrows which straggle the least 
out of the required line, aud when the task becomes impossible 
even with the help of these instruments, the paint brush or a 
stick of charcoal is brought into requisition. A comparison of 
one such painted lily with the natural healthy complexion, bright 
eyes, laughing lips, and dimpled cheeks of a Canton boat girl, for 
exam[)le, is enough to vindicate nature's claim to superiority over 
art a thousand fold. 

But the chief offense of Chinese women is in their treatment of 




BANDAGING THE FEET. 

their feet. Various explanations are current as to the origin of 
the custom of deforming the women's feet. Some say tliat it is 
an attempt to imitate the peculiarly shaped foot of a certain 
beautiful empress ; others tliat it is a device intended to restrain 
the gadding-about tendencies of women; but however that may 
be, the practice is universal except among the Manchoos and the 
Hakka population at Canton, who have natural feet. The feet 
are first bound when the child is about five years old and the 
muscles of locomotion have consequently had time to develop. 
8 



152 ORIGIN OF THE QUEUE. 

A cotton bandage two or three inches wide is wound tightly 
about the foot in different directions. The four smaller toes are 
bent under the foot, and the instep is forced upward and back- 
ward. The foot therefore assumes the shape of an acute triangle, 
the big toe forming the acute angle and the other toes, being 
bent under the foot, becoming almost lost or absorbed. At the 
same time, the shoes worn having high heels, the foot becomes 
nothing but a club and loses all elasticity. The consequence is 
that the women walk as on pegs, and the calf of the leg having 
no exercise shrivels up. Though the effect of this custom is to 
produce real deformity and a miserable tottering gait, even 
foreigners naturally come to associate it with gentility and good 
breeding, and to estimate the character and position of women 
much as the Chinese do, by the size of their feet. The degree of 
severity with which the feet are bound differs widely in the 
various ranks of society. Country women and the poorer classes 
have feet about half the natural size, while those of the genteel 
or fashionable class are only about three inches long. 

Women in the humbler walks of life are therefore often able to 
move about with ease. Most ladies on the other hand are practi- 
cally debarred from walking at all and are dependent on their 
sedan chairs for all locomotion beyond they own doors. But 
even in this case habit becomes a second nature and fashion 
triumphs over sense. No mother, however keen may be her 
recollection of her sufferings as a child, or however conscious she 
may be of the inconveniences and ills arising from her deformed 
feet, would ever dream of saving her own child from like imme- 
diate torture and permanent evil. Further there is probably less 
excuse for such a practice in China than in any other country, for 
the hands and feet of both men and women are naturally both 
small and finely shaped. The Chinese insist upon it that the 
custom of compressing women's feet is neither in as bad taste nor 
so injurious to the health as that of foreign women in compress- 
ing the waist. 

The male analogue of the women's compressed feet in the shaven 
forepart of the head and the braided queue. The custom of thus 
treating the hair was imposed on the people by the first empeior 
of the present dynasty, in 1644. Up to that time the Chinese 



FOOD AND HOW IT IS EATEIST. 153 

had allowed the hair to grow long, and were in the habit of 
drawing it up into a tuft on the top of the head. The introduc- 
tion of the queue at the bidding of the Manchoorian conqueror 
was intended as a badge of conquest, and as such was at first un- 
willingly adopted by the people. For nearly a century the 
natives of outlying parts of the empire refused to submit their 
heads to the razor and in many districts the authorities rewarded 
converts to the new way by presents of money. As tlie custom 
spread these bribes were discontinued, and the converse action of 
treating those who refused to conform with severity, completed 
the conversion of the empire. At the present day every China- 
man who is not in open rebellion to the throne, shaves his head 
with the exception of the crown where the hair is allowed to grow 
to its full length. This hair is carefully braided, and falls down 
the back forming what is commonly known as the " pig tail." 
Great pride is taken, especially in the south, in having as long 
and as thick a queue as possible, and when nature has been nig- 
gardly in her supply of natural growth, the deficiency is supple- 
mented by the insertion of silk in the plait. 

The staff of life in China is rice. It is eaten and always eaten, 
from north to south and from east to west, on the tables of the 
lich and poor, morning, noon, and night, except among the very 
poor people in some of the northern non-rice producing provinces 
where millet takes its place. In all other parts the big bowl of 
boiled rice forms the staple of the meal eaten by the people, and 
it is accompanied by vegetables, fish and meat, according to the 
circumstances of the household. Among many people, however, 
there is a disinclination to eat meat, owing to the influence of 
Buddhism. The difference in the quality and expense of the food 
of the rich from that of the poor, consists principally in the con- 
comitants eaten with the rice or millet. The poor have simply a 
dish of salt vegetables or fish, which costs comparatively little. 
The rich have pork, fowls, eggs, fish and game prepared in 
various ways. 

Before each chair is placed an empty bowl and two chop-sticks, 
while in the middle of the table stands the dishes of food. Each 
person fills his basin from the large dishes, or is supplied by the 
servants, and holding it up to his chin with his left hand he 



154 FOOD PRODUCTS OF Clill-A. 

transfers its contents into his mouth witli his chop-sticks with 
the utmost ease. The chop-sticks are held between the first and 
second, and the second and third fingers, and constant practice 
enables a Chinaman to lift up and hold the minutest atoms of 
food, oily and slippery as they often are, with the greatest ease. 
To most foreigners their skillful use is well nigh impossible. To 
the view of the Chinese the use of chop-sticks is an evidence of 
superior culture ; and the use of such barbarous instruments as 
knives and forks, and cutting or tearing the meat from the bones 
on the table instead of having the food properly prepared and 
severed into edible morsels in the kitchen, evidences a lower type 
of civilization. 

The meats most commonly eaten are pork, mutton, and goat's 
flesh, beside ducks, chickens, and pheasants, and in the north 
deer and hares. Beef is never exposed for sale in the Chinese 
markets. The meat of the few cattle which are killed is disposed 
of almost clandestinel3^ There is a strong and almost universal 
prejudice against eating beef, and the practice of doing so is de- 
claimed against in some of the moral tracts. Milk is hardly used 
at all in the eighteen provinces, and in many places our practice 
of drinking it is regarded witli the utmost disgust. 

It must be confessed that in some parts of the country less 
savory viands find their place on the dinner table. In Canton, 
for example, dried rats have a recognized place in the poulterers' 
shops and find a ready market. Horse flesh is also exposed for 
sale, and there are even to be found dog and cat restaurants. 
The flesh of black dogs and cats, and especially the former is 
preferred as being more nutritive. Frogs form a common dish 
among the poor people and are, it is needless to sa}^ very good 
eating. In some parts of the country locusts and grasshoppers 
are eaten. At Tien-tsin men may commonly be seen standing at 
the corners of the streets frying locusts over portable fires, just 
as among ourselves chestnuts are cooked. Ground-grubs, silk- 
worms and water-snakes are also occasionally treated as food. 
The sea, lakes, and rivers abound in fish, and as fish forms a 
staple food of the people the fisherman's art has been brought to 
a great degree of perfection. The same care as in the production 
of fish is extended to that of ducks and poultry. Eggs are arti- 



FUNEKAL CEREMONIES. 157 

ficially liatched in immense numbers, and the poultry mjirkets 
and boats along the river at Canton are most amazing in their 
extent. 

The funerals of grown persons, and especially of parents, are 
as remarkable for burdensome ceremonies, extravagant manifesta- 
tions of grief and lavish expense, as those of children are for 
their, coldness and neglect. Candles, incense and offerings of 
food are placed before the corpse, and a company of priests is 
engaged to chant prayers for the departed spirit. An abundance 
of clothing is deposited with the body in the cofQn and various 
ceremonies are performed during several days immediately after 
that, and on every subsequent seventh day, closing with the 
seventh seven. When the coffin is carried out for burial, men 
and women follow in the procession clothed in coarse white gar- 
ments, white being used for mourning. 

Inasmuch as the coffin must remain in the hall for forty-nine 
days, naturally they are prepared with a great deal of care. Very 
thick planks are used in its construction, cut from the hardest 
trees, caulked on the outside and cemented on the inside, and 
finally varnished or lacquered. Sometimes a coffin containing 
a body is kept in the house for a considerable length of time 
after the forty-nine days have expired, while arrangements are 
being made for a burying place and other preliminaries are 
attended to. The lids being nailed down in cement they are per- 
fectly air-tight. 

The notions which Chinamen entertain concerning the future 
life rob death of half its terrors and lead them to regard their 
funeral ceremonies and the due performance of the proper rites 
by their descendants as the chief factors of their future well 
being. Among other things the importance of securing a coffin 
according to the approved fashion is duly recognized, and as men 
approach old age they not infrequently buy their own coffins, 
which they keep carefully by them. The present of a coffin is 
considered a dutiful attention from a son to an aged father. 

The choice of a site for the grave is determined by a profes- 
sor of the " FungShuy " superstition, who, compass in hand, ex- 
plores the entire district to find a spot which combines all the 
qualities necessary for the quiet repose of the dead. When such 



158 



CURIOUS BURIAL CUSTOMS. 



a favored spot has been discovered a priest is called in to deter- 
mine a lucky day for the burial. This is by no means an easy mat- 
ter and it often happens that the dead remain unburied for 
months or even years on account of the difficulties in the way of 




THE PUNISHMENTS OP HELL. — Fvoni Chinese Drawings. 

choosing either fortunate graves or lucky days. The ceremonies 
of the interment itself and of mourning that follows are most 
elaborate in character, and too much involved for detailed descrip- 
tion here. 



CURIOUS BURIAL CUSTOMS. 159 

But universal as the practice of burying may be said to be in 
China there are exceptions to it. The Buddhist priests as a rule 
prefer cremation, and this custom, which came with the religion 
they profess from India, has at times found imitators among the 
laity. In Formosa the dead are exposed and dried in the air; 
and some of the Meaou-tsze tribes of central and southern China 
bury their dead, it is true, but after an interval of a year or 
more, having chosen a lucky day, they disinter them. On such 
occasions they go accompanied by their friends to the grave, and 
having opened the tomb they take out the bones and having 
brushed and washed them clean they put them back wrapped in 
cloth. 

The necessity in the Chinese mind that their bones must rest 
in the soil of their native land with their ancestors, has made to 
exist some peculiar practices among the colonizing Chinese in the 
United States and other countries. The bones of those who die 
thus far away from home are carefully preserved by their coun- 
trymen and shipped back, sometimes after many years, to find a 
resting place in the Middle Kingdom. 

It is a curious circumstance that in China where there exists 
such a profound veneration for everything old, there should not 
be found any ancient buildings oi' old ruins. That there is an 
abundant supply of durable materials for building is certain, and 
for many centuries the Chinese have been acquainted with the 
art of brick making, yet they have reared no building possessing 
enduring stability. Not only does the ephemeral nature of the 
tent, wliich would indicate their original nomadic origin and rec- 
ollection of old tent homes, appear in the slender construction of 
Chinese houses, but even in shape they assume a tent-like form. 
Etiquette provides that in houses of the better class a high wall 
shall surround the building, and that no window shall look out- 
ward. Consequently streets in the fashionable parts of cities 
have a dreary aspect. The only breaks in the long line of dismal 
wall are the front doors, which are generally closed, or if not, 
movable screens bar the sight of all beyond the door. Passing 
around one such screen one finds himself in a court-yard which 
is laid out as a garden or paved with stone. From this court- 
yard one reaches, on either side, rooms occupied by servants, or 



160 PLAN OF THE HOUSES. 

directly in front, another building. Through this latter another 
court-yard is reached, in the rooms surrounding which the family 
live, and behind this again are the women's apartments, which 
not infrequently give exit to a garden at the back. 

Wooden pillars support the roofs of the buildings, and the in- 
tervals between these are filled up with brick work. The 
window-frames are wooden, over which is pasted either paper or 
calico, or sometimes pieces of talc to transmit the light. The 
doors are almost invariably folding doors ; the floors either stone 
or cement ; and ceilings are not often used, the roof being the 
only covering to the rooms. Carpets are seldom used, more 
especially in southern China, where also stoves for warming pur- 
poses are known. In the north, where in the winter the cold is 
very great, portable charcoal stoves are employed and small chaf- 
ing dishes are carried about from room to room. Delicate little 
hand-stoves, which gentlemen and ladies carry in their sleeves, 
are very much in vogue. In the colder latitudes a raised plat- 
form or dais is built in the room, of brick and stone, under which 
a fire is kindled with a chimney to carry off the smoke. The 
whole substance of this dais becomes heated and retains its 
warmth for several hours. This is the almost universal bed of 
the north of China. But the main dependence of the Chinese for 
personal warmth is on clothes. As the winter approaches garment 
is added to garment and furs to quilted vestments, until the 
wearer assumes an unwieldy and exaggerated shape. Well-to-do 
Chinamen seldom take strong exercise, and they are therefore 
able to bear clothes which to a European would be unendurable. 

Of the personal comfort obtainable in a house. Chinamen are 
strangely ignorant. Their furniture is of the hardest and most 
uncompromising nature. Chairs made of a hard black wood, 
angular in shape, and equally unyielding divans, are the only 
seats known to them. Their beds are scarcely more comfortable, 
and their pillows are oblong cubes of bamboo or other hard 
material. For the maintenance of the existing fashions of female 
head dressing, this kind of pillow is essential to women at least, 
as their hair, which is only dressed at intervals of days, and which 
is kept in its shape by the abundant use of bandoline, would be 
crushed and disfigured if lain upon for a moment. Women, 



FURNISHINGS OF THP: HOUSES. 161 

therefore, who make any pretension of following the fashion, are 
obliged to sleep at night on their backs, resting the nape of the 
neck on the pillow and thus keeping the head and hair free from 
contact with anything. 

The ornaments in the honses of the well-to-do are frequently 
elaborate and beautiful. Their wood carvings, cabinets, and 
ornamental pieces of furniture, and the rare beauty of their 
bronzes and porcelain, are of late years well known and much 
sought for in our own country. Tables are nearly uniform in 
size, furnishing a seat for one person on each of the four sides, 
and tables are multiplied sufficiently to accommodate whatever 
number requires to be served. When guests are entertained, the 
two sexes eat separately in different rooms, but in ordinary meals 
the members of the family of both sexes sit down together with 
much less formality. 

The streets in the towns differ widely in construction in the 
northern and southern portions of the empire. In the south they 
are narrow and paved, in the north they are wide and unpaved, 
both constructions being suited to the local wants of the people. 
The absence of wheel traffic in the southern provinces makes 
wide streets unnecessary, while by contracting their width the 
sun's rays have less chance of beating down on the heads of 
passers and it is possible to stretch awnings from roof to roof. It 
is true that this is done at the expense of fresh air, but even to 
do this is a gain. Shops are all open in front, the counters form- 
ing the only barrier. The streets are crowded in the extreme, 
and passage is necessarily slow. 

This inconvenience is avoided in the wide streets of the cities 
of the north, but these streets are so ill kept that in wet weather 
they are mud and in dry they are covered inches deep in dust. 
Of the large cities of the north and south Peking and Canton 
may be takea as typical examples and certainly, with the excep- 
tion of the palace, the walls, and certain imperial temples, the 
streets of Peking compare very unfavorably with those of Canton. 
The walls surrounding Peking are probably the finest and best 
kept in the empire. In height they are about forty feet and the 
same in width. The top, which is defended by massive battle- 
ments, is well paved and is kept in excellent order. Over each 



162 



HORROKS OF INFANTICIDE. 



gate is built a fortified tower between eighty and ninety feet 
high. 

The power of a Chinese father over his children is complete 
except that it stops sliort with life. The practice of selling chil- 
dren is common, and though the law makes it a punishable offense, 
should the sale be effected against the will of the children, the 
prohibition is practically ignored. In the same w^ay a law exists 
making infanticide a crime, but as a matter of fact it is never 
acted upon ; and in some parts of the country, more especially in 




CHINESE CART. 



the provinces of Chiang-hsi and Fu-chien, this most unnatural 
offense prevails among the poorer classes to an alarming extent. 
Not only do the people acknowledge the existence of the practice, 
but they even go the length of defending it. It is only however 
abject poverty which drives parents to this dreadful expedient, 
and in the more prosperous and wealthy districts the crime is 
almost unknown. Periodically the mandarins inveigh against the 
inhumanity of the offense and appeal to the better instincts of 
the people to put a stop to it ; but a stone which stands near a 



HORRORS OF mFANTTCTDE. 



168 



pool outside the city of Foochow bearing the insciiptioi], *' Girls 
may not be drowned here," testifies with terrible emphasis to the 
futility of their endeavors. 

The large number of cast-a-way bodies of dead infants seen in 
many parts of China is often regarded, though unjustly, as evi- 
dence of the prevalence of this crime. In most instances, however, 
it really indicates only the denial of burial to infants. This is 
due, at least in many places, to the following superstition : When 
they die it is supposed that their bodies have been inhabited by 
the spirit of a deceased creditor of a previous state of existence. 
The child during its sickness 
may be cared for with the 
greatest tenderness, but if it 
dies parental love is turned 
to hate and resentment. It 
is regarded as an enemy and 
intruder in the family who 
has been exacting satisfaction 
for the old unpaid debt ; and 
having occasioned a great 
deal of anxiety, trouble, and 
expen.se, has left nothing to 
show for it but disappoint- 
ment. The un cared for and 
uncoffined little body is cast 
away anywhere ; and as it is 
carried out of the door the 
house is swept, crackers are 
fired, and gongs beaten to 

frighten the spirit so that it may never dare enter the house again. 
Thus do superstitions dry up the fountains of natural affection. 

The complete subjection of children to their parents is so 
firmly imbued in the minds of every Chinese youth, that resist- 
ance to the infliction of cruel and even unmerited punishment is 
seldom if ever offered, and full-grown men submit meekly to be 
flogged without raising their hands. The law steps in on every 
occasion in support of parental authority. Filial piety is the 
leading principle in Chinese ethics. 




SCHOOL BOY. 



164 



SCHOOL LIFE OF THE CHILDREN. 



Scliool life begins at the age of six, and among the wealthier 
classes great care is shown in the choice of master. The stars 
having indicated a propitious day for beginning work, the boy 
presents himself at school, bringing with him two small candles, 
some sticks of incense, and some paper money, which are burnt 
at the shrine of Confucius, before which also the little fellow 
prostrates himself three times. There being no alphabet in 
Chinese the pupil has to plunge at once into the middle of things 
and begins by learning to read. Having mastered two elementary 
books, the next step is to the '' Four Books." Then follow the 
"Five Classics,'* the final desire of Chinese learning. A full 




CHINESE SCHOOL. 



comprehension of these Four Books and Five Classics, together 
with the commentaries upon them, and the power of turning this 
knowledge to account in the shape of essays and poems, is all 
that is required at the highest examination in the empire. This 
course of instruction has been exactly followed out in everj^ 
school in the empire for many centuries. 

The choice of a future calling, which is often so perplexing in 
our own country, is simplified in China by the fact of there being 
but two pursuits which a man of respectability and education 
can follow, namely the mandarinate and trades. The liberal 
professions as we understand them are unknown in China. The 





^ 



CHOICE OF A VOCATION. 



167 



judicial system forbids the existence of the legal profession ex- 
cept ill the case of official secretaries attached to the mandarins' 
courts ; and medicine is represented by charlatans who prey on 
the follies of their fellowmen and dispense ground tiger's teeth, 
t^nake's skins, etc., in lieu of drugs. A lad, or his parents for 
him, has therefore practically to consider whether he should 
attempt to compete at the general competitive examinations to 
qualify him for office, or whether he should embarkin one of the 
numerous mercantile concerns which abound among the money- 
making and thrifty Chinese. 

The succession of examinations leading up to the various hon- 
orary degrees and official 
positions, are complicated 
and exacting. The suc- 
cessful candidates have 
great honor attached to 
them, and are the promi- 
nent and successful people 
of the empire. These ex- 
aminations are open to 
every man in the empire of 
whatever grade, unless he 
belong to one of the fol 
lowing four classes, or be 
the descendant of one such 
within three generations ; 
actors, prostitutes, jailers, 
and executioners and ser- 
vants of mandarins. The theory with regard to these people is 
that actors and prostitutes being devoid of all shame, and execu- 
tioners and jailers having become hardened by the cruel nature of 
their offices, are unfit in their own persons or as represented by 
their sons to win posts of honor by means of the examinations. 

The military examinations are held sepanitely, and though the 
literary calibre of the candidates is treated mnch in the same 
way as at the civil examinations, the same high standard of 
knowledge is not required ; but in addition skill in archery and 
in the use of warlike weapons is essential. It is illustrative of 




SCHOOL GIRL. 



168 



TEACHERS AND SCHOLARS. 



the backwardness of the Chinese in warlike methods, that though 
they have been acquainted with the use of gunpowder for some 
centuries, they revert in the examination of military candidates 
to the weapons of the ancients, and that while theoretically they 
are great strategists, strength and skill in the use of these 
weapons are the only tests required for commissions. 

Persons of almost every class and in almost every station of 
life make an effort to send their boys to school, with the hope 
that they may distinguish themselves, be advanced to high posi- 
tions in the state, and 
reflect honor upon their 
families. Of those who 
compete for literary 
honors a very small 
proportion are success- 
ful in attaining even the 
first degree, though 
some strive for it for a 
lifetime. These unsuc- 
cessful candidates and 
the graduates of the first 
and second degrees, 
form the important class 
of literary men scattered 
throughout the empire. 
The large proportion of 
this class are compara- 
tively poor, and their 
services may be ob- 
tained for a very small 
remuneration. They are employed to teach the village schools. 
Rich families in different neighborhoods often assist in keeping 
up the school for the credit of the village, and opportunities for 
obtaining an education are thus brought within the reach of all. 
Graduates of the first and second degrees, generally have the 
charge of more advanced pupils, and many are engaged as tutors 
in private families, commanding higher wages. They are also em- 
ploj'ed as scribes or copjdsts, and to write letters, family histories, 




CHINESE ARTIST. 



BUSINESS AND THE TRADES. 



169 



genealogies, etc. In the larger cities schools are established by the 
government, and in many places free schools are supported by 
wealthy men, but these institutions do not seem to be popular 
and are not flourishing. 

Though trade practically holds its place as next in estimation 
to the mandarinate, in theory it should follow both the careers of 
husbandry and of 
the mechanical 
arts. All land is 

held in free-hold ,Xn 

v 

from the 



govern- 
ment, and princi- 
pally by clans or 
families, who pay 
an annual tax to 
the crown, amount- 
ing to about one- 
tenth of the pro- 
duce. As long as 
this tax is paid 
regularly the 
owners are never 
dispossessed, and 
properties thus re- 
main in the hands 
of clans and fami- 
lies for many gen- 
erations. In order 
that farming oper- 
ations shall be 
properly conduct- 
ed, there are estab- 
lished in . almost every district agricultural boards, consisting of 
old men learned in husbandry. By these veterans a careful 
watch is kept over the work done by the neighboring farmers, 
and in the case of any dereliction of duty or neglect of the pre- 
scribed modes of farming, the offender is summoned before the 
district magistrate, who inflicts the punishment which he con- 




CHINESE BARBER. 



170 MODES OF TRAVEL. 

siders proportionate to the offense. The appliances of the 
Chinese for irrigating the fields and winnowing the grain are 
excellent, but those for getting the largest crops out of the land 
are of a rude and primitive kind. 

Among their artisans the Chinese number carpenters, masons, 
tailoi-s, shoemakers, workers in iron and brass, and silversmiths 
and goldsmiths, who can imitate almost any article of foreign 
manufacture ; also workmen in bamboo, carvers, idol makers, 
needle manufacturers, barbers, hair-dressers, etc. Business men 
sell almost every kind of goods and commodities wholesale and 
retail. Large fortunes are amassed very much in the same way 
and by the same means as are now in our own country. The 
wealth of the rich is invested in lands or houses, or employed as 
capital in ti-ade or banking, or is lent out on good security, and 
often at a high rate of interest. 

Traveling in China is slow and leisurely, and the modes of it 
vary greatly in different parts of the empire. In many of the 
provinces, especially along the coast and in the south, canals take 
the place, for the most part, of roads. In the vicinity of Ningpo 
the country is supplied with a complete network of them, often 
intersecting each other at distances of one or two miles or less. 
Farmers frequently have short branch canals running off to their 
houses, and the farm boat takes the place of the farm wagon. 
Heavy loaded passage or freight boats ply in every direction. 
The ordinary charge for passage is less than one-half a cent per 
mile. The boats are admirably adapted to the people and circum- 
stances, being built for comfort, rather than for speed. These 
water courses then, with the rivers which are so numerous, fur- 
nish the most general way of traveling throughout the empire. 

In the north, where the country is level and open, the existence 
of broad roads enables the people to use rude carts for the con- 
veyance of passengers and freight. Mules are used for riding 
purposes, and palanquins borne by two horses, or sedan chairs 
carried by two coolies, are popular ways of traveling. The sea- 
going junks are very much larger than the river craft, and differ- 
ent in construction. The best ones are divided into water tight 
compartments and are capable of carrying several thousand ton» 



r 

> 

O 

n 
o 

en 
H 

a 

w 




HOLIDAYS AND AMUSEMENTS. 



17i 



of cargo. They are generally three-masted and carry huge sails 
made of matting. 

Although the Chinese have the compass, they are without the 
knowledge necessary for taking nautical ohservations, so they 
either hug the land or steer straight b}^ them copass until they 
reach some coast with which they are familiar. In these circum- 
stances it is easy to understand why the loss of junks and lives on 
the Chinese coast every year is so great. The immense number 
of people who live in boats on the rivers in southern China, 
render the terrible typhoons which sweep the sea and land espec- 
ially destructive. For the most part these boat-people are not of 
Chinese origin but are remnants of the aborigines of the country. 




V. J^. 



PORTER'S CHAIR. 



That the race has ever survived is a constant wonder, seeing the 
hourly and almost momentary danger of drowning in which the 
children live on board their boats. The only precaution that is 
ever taken, even in th^ cese of infants, is to tie an empty gourd 
between their shoulders, so that should they fall into the water 
they may be kept afloat until help comes. They are born in 
their boats, they marry in their boats, and die in their boats. 

The Chinese calendar and the festivities that accompany differ- 
ent seasons and anniversaries, are peculiarly interesting and 
different from our own, but space forbids an}^ detailed account of 
them. The four seasons correspond to ours, and in addition to 
9 



172 HOLIDAYS AND AMUSEMENTS. 

the four seasons the year is divided into eight parts called 
"joints/' or divisions, and these are again subdivided into six- 
teen more called "breaths," or sources of life. There are forty 
festivals of China which are celebrated with observances generally 
throughout the empire and are considered to be important. They 
do not occur at regular intervals, and there is no periodical day 
of rest and recreation corresponding at all to our Sunday. The 
festivities of the new year exceed all others in their prominence 
and continuance, and in the universality and enthusiasm with 
which they are observed. " The Feast of Lanterns " and " The 
Festival of the Tombs " are two of the most interesting of Chinese 
festivals. The ninth day of the ninth month is a great time for 
flying kites. On that day thousands of men enjoy the sport and 
immense kites of all grotesque shapes fill the air. Theaters are 
very common in China, but the character and associations of the 
stage are very different from those of western lands and are very 
much less respected. Actors are regarded as an inferior class. 
Females do not appear upon the stage, but men act the part of 
female characters. Gambling is very common in China and is 
practiced in a variety of ways. Its ill effects are acknowledged, 
and there are laws prohibiting it, but they are a dead letter. 
There are many kinds of stringed and reed instruments used by 
the musicians of China. Bells, also, are ver}^ numerous, and ex- 
cellent sweet toned bells are made. A careful watch is kept over 
the efforts of composers by the imperial board of music, whose 
duty it is to keep alive the music of the ancients and to suppress 
all compositions which are not in harmony with it. It is difficult 
for western ears to find anything truly beautiful in Chinese 
music. 

The medical art of China is not of a sort to win much admira- 
tion from us. The Chinese know nothing of ph3^siology or an- 
atomy. The functions of the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and 
brain are sealed books to them and they recognize no distinction 
between veins and arteries and between nerves and tendons. 
Their deeply rooted repugnance to the use of a knife in surgery 
or to post-mortem examinations prevents the possibility of their 
acquiring any accurate knowledge of the position of the various 
organs. They consider that from the heart and pit of the stomach 



MEDICAL PRACTICE. 173 

all ideas and delights proceed, and that the gall bladder is the 
seat of courage. Man's body is believed to be composed of the 
five elements, fire, water, metal, wood, earth. The medical pro- 
fession in China is an open one, for there are no medical colleges 
and no examination tests to worry the minds of would-be practi- 
tioners. Some doctors have prescriptions as valuable and of the 
same sort as those prepared from herbs and vegetables by many 
an old woman in our own country settlements. On the other 
hand, some of the most ridiculous remedies are given, such as 
tiger's teeth, gold and silver leaf, and shavings of rhinoceros 
horns, or ivory. Fortunately for the people imflammatory 
diseases are almost unknown in China, but small-pox, consump- 
tion, and dysentery rage almost unchecked by medical help; skin 
diseases are very prevalent, and cancer is by no means uncommon. 
Of late the practice of vaccination has begun to make its wa}^ 
among the people. 

There are hosts of superstitions among the Chinese people, and 
their beliefs regarding spirits and the influence of the dead, of 
sorcerers, and of devils, are myriad. These superstitions pervade 
every rank of society, from the highest to the lowest. The 
general term applied to the whole system of superstition and luck 
is fung-shwuy, and the practitioners and learned men in this 
science are called upon to determine what action shall be taken 
in all sorts of circumstances. 

There are benevolent societies in China corresponding in 
variety and almost in number to those of Christian lands. There 
are orphan asylums, institutions for the relief of widows, and for 
the aged and infirm, public hospitals and free schools, together 
witli other kindred institutions more peculiarly Chinese in their 
character. In some parts of China schools for girls exist, taught 
by female teachers. In most places, however females are seldom 
taught letters, and schools for their benefit are not known. 
Foreigners in establishing them invariably give a small sum of 
money or some rice for each day's attendance, and it is thought 
that these schools could not be kept together in any other way. 

The Chinese describe themselves as possessing three religions, 
or more accurately three sects, namely, Joo keaou, the sect of 
scholars , Fuh keaou, the sect of Buddha ; and Tao keaou, the 



174 CONFUCIANISM. 

sect of Tao. Both as regards age and origin, the sect of scholars, 
or as it is generally called, Confucianism, represents pre-eminently 
the religion of China. It has its root in the worship of Shang-te, 
a deity associated with the earliest traditions of the Chinese race. 
This deity was a personal god, who ruled the affairs of men, re- 
warding and punishing as appeared just. But during the troub- 
lous times which followed the first sovereigns of the Chow 
dynasty, the belief in a personal deity grew dim, until when Con- 
fucius began his career there appeared nothing strange m his 
atheistic teachings. His concern was with man as a member of 
society, and the object of his teaching was to lead him into those 
paths of rectitude which might best contribute to the happiness 
of the man, and to the well-being of the community of which he 
formed a part. Man, he held, was born good and was endowed 
with qualities, which when cultivated and improved by watchful- 
ness and self-restrai]it, might enable him to acquire godlike 
wisdom. In the system of Confucius there is no place for a 
personal god. Man has his destiny in his own hands to make or 
mar. Neither had Confucius any inducement to offer to en- 
courage men in the practice of virtue, except virtue itself. He 
was a matter-of-fact, unimaginative man, who was quite content 
to occupy himself with the study of his fellow men, and was dis- 
inclined to grope into the future. Succeeding ages, recognizing 
the loftiness of his aiuis, eliminated all that was impracticable and 
unreal in his system, and held fast to that part of it that was true 
and good. They clung to the doctrines of filial piety, brotherly 
love, and virtuous living. It w^as admiration for the emphasis 
which he laid on these and otlier virtues, which has drawn so 
many millions of men unto him and has adorned every city of the 
empire with temples built in his honor. 

Side by side with the revival of the Joo keaou, under the in- 
fluence of Confucius, grew up a S3'stem of a totally different 
nature, which when divested of its esoteric doctrines and reduced 
by the practically minded Chinamen to a code of morals, was 
destined in future ages to become affiliated with the teachings of 
the sage. This was Taoism, wdiich was founded by Lao-tzu, who 
was a contemporary of Confucius. The object of his teaching 
was to induce men, by the practice of self-abnegation, to reach 




CHINESE EMPEROR, KING OF COREA, AND CHINESE OFFICIALS. 



TAOISM. 17? 

absorption in something which he called Tao, and which bears a 
certain resemblance to the Nirvana of the Buddhists. The 
primary meaning of Tao is " the way," " the path," but in Lao-tzu 
philosophy it was more than the way, it was the way-goer as well. 
It was an eternal road ; along it all beings and things walked ; it 
was everything and nothing, and the cause and effect of all. All 
things originated from Tao, conformed to Tao, and to Tao at last 
returned. It was absorption into this "mother of all things" 
that Lao-tzu aimed at. But these subtil ties, to the common 
people were foolishness, and before long the philosophical doc- 
trine of the identity of existence and non-existence assumed in 
their eyes a warrant for the old Epicurean motto, " Let us eat 
and drink, for to-morrow we die." The pleasures of sense were 
substituted for the delights of virtue, and to prolong life the 
votaries began a search for elixirs of immortality, and cliarms. 
Taoism quickly degenerated into a system of magic. To-day the 
monopoly which Taoist priests enjoy as the exponents of the 
mysteries of nature, inherited from the time when they sought 
for natural charms, makes them indispensably necessary to all 
classes, and the most confirmed Confucianist does not hesitate to 
consult the shaven followers of Lao-tzu on the choice of the site 
for his house, the position of his family graveyard, or a fortunate 
day for undertaking an enterprise. Apart from the practice of 
these magical arts, Taoism has become assimilated with modern 
Confucianism and is scarcely distinguishable from it. 

The teachings of Lao-tzu bore a sufficient resemblance to the 
musings of Indian sages, that they served to prepare the way for 
the introduction of Buddhism. A deputation of Buddhists ar- 
rived in. China in the year 216 B. C, but were harshly treated, 
and returned to their homes without leaving any impress of their 
religion. It was not until some sixty j^ears after Christ, in the 
reign of the Emperor Ming Ti, that Buddhism was actually in- 
troduced. One night the emperor dreamed that a monster golden 
image appeared and said, " Buddha bids you to send to the west- 
ern countries to search for him and to get books and images." 
The emperor obeyed, and sent an embassy to India which re- 
turned after an absence of eleven years bringing back images, the 
sacred writings, and missionaries who could translate these 



ITS BUDDHISM. 

scriptures into Chinese. Thus was introduced into China the 
knowledge of that system which in purity and loftiness of aim 
takes its place next to Christianity among the religions of the 
world. From this time Buddhism grew and prevailed in the 
land. 

The Buddhism of China is not, however, exactly that of India. 
The Chinese believe in a material paradise, which is obviously 




BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 

inconsistent with the orthodox belief in Nirvana. Like the other 
faiths of China, orthodox Buddhism could not entirely satisfy 
the people. Like the Jews of old they were eager after signs, 
and self interest made their spiritual rulers nothing loth to grant 
them their desire. From the mountains and monasteries came 
men who claimed to possess the elixir of immortality, and pro- 



UNION OF THREE FAITHS. 179 

claimed themselves adepts in witchcraft and sorcery. By magic 
incantations they exorcised evil spirits, and dissipated famine, 
pestilence, and disease. By the exercise of their supernatural 
powers tliey rescued souls from hell, and arrested pain and death. 
In the services of the church they added ritual to ritual. By 
such means they won their way among the people, and even 
sternly orthodox Confucianists make use of their services to 
chant the liturgies of the dead. But while superstition compels 
even the wise and the learned to pay homage to this faith, there 
is scarcely an educated man who would not repudiate a sugges- 
tion that he is a follower of Buddha; and though the common 
people throng the temples to buy charms and consult astrologers, 
they yet despise both the priests and the religion they profess. 
But Buddhism has after all been a blessing rather than a curse 
in China. It has to a certain extent lifted the mind of the peo- 
ple from the too exclusive consideration of mundane affairs, to 
the contemplation of a future state. It has taught them to value 
purity of life more highly ; to exercise self-constraint and to for- 
get self; and to practise charity towards their neighbors. 

It will be seen that no clearly defined line of demarcation sep- 
arates the three great sects of China. Each in its turn has bor- 
rowed from the others, until at the present day it may be doubted 
whether there are to be found any pure Confucianists, pure 
Buddhists, or pure Taoists. Confucianism has provided the 
moral basis on which the national character of the Chinese rests, 
and Buddhism and Taoism have supplied the supernatural ele- 
ment wanting in that system. Speaking generally then, the re- 
ligion of China is a medley of the three great sects which are 
now so closely interlaced that it is impossible either to classify 
or enumerate the members of each creed. The only other relig- 
ion of importance in China is Mohammedanism, which is confined 
to the south-western and north-western provinces of the empire. 
In this faith also the process of absorption in a national mixture 
of beliefs is making headway. And since the suppression of the 
Panthay rebellion in Yun-nan, there has been a gradual decline in 
the number of the followers of the prophet. 

The speech and the written composition of the Chinese differ 
more than those of any other people. The former addresses it- 



180 LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 

self, like all other languages, to the miDcl through the ear ; the 
latter speaks to the mind through the eye, not as words but as 
symbols of ideas. All Chinese literature might be understood 
and translated though the student of it could not name a single 
character. The colloquial speech is not difficult of acquisition, 
but the written composition is slow of learning by foreigners. 
" Pidgin English " is a mixed Chinese, Portuguese and English 
language, which is a creation of the necessities of communication 
between Chinese and foreigners at the open ports, while neither 
party had the time or means or wish to acquire an accurate 
knowledge of the language of the other. " Pidgin " is a Chinese 
attempt to pronounce our word business, and the materials of the 
lingo are nearly all English words similarly represented or mis- 
represented. The idiom on the other hand is entirely that of 
colloquial Chinese. Foreigners master it in a short time so as to 
carry on long conversations by means of it, and to transact im- 
portant affairs of business. This jargon is passing away. Chinese 
who know English and English who know Chinese are increasing 
in number from year to year. 

In the first two chapters, containing a sketch of Chinese his- 
tory, mention has been made of the greater literary works pro- 
duced in the early centuries of the empire ; and the calamity of 
the burning of the books has been described. Of the famous 
classics which are yet cherished w^e will not speak again here. 
After the revival of literature, and the encouragement given to 
it by the successors of the emperor who destroyed the libraries 
of the empire, the tide has flowed onward in an ever-increasing 
volume, checked only at times by one of those signal calamities 
often overtaking the imperial libraries of China. It is note- 
worthy tliat however ruthlessly the libraries and intellectual cen- 
ters have been destroyed, one of the first acts of the successful 
founders of succeeding dynasties has been to restore them to 
their former completeness and efficiency. 

The Chinese divide their literature into four departments, 
classical, philosophical, historical and belles lettres. The " nine 
classics," of which we have already spoken as being the books 
studied by every Chinese student, form but the nucleus of the 
immense mass of literature which has gathered around them. 



POSSIBILITIES OF CHINA. 



181 



The historical literature of China is the most important brancli 
of the national literature. There are works which record the 
purely political events of each reign, as well as those on chronol- 
ogy, rites and music, jurisprudence, political economy, state sac- 
rifices, astronomy, geography, and records of the neighboring 
countries. On drawing, painting, and medicine much has been 
written. Poems, novels, and romances, dramas, and books 
written in the colloqual style, are frequent in the Chinese litera- 




TEMPLE OF FIVE HUNDRED GODS, AT CANTON. 

ture. There is no more pleasant reading than some of their his- 
torical romances, and some of the best novels have been trans- 
lated into European languages. There is, however, considerable 
poverty of imagination, little analysis of character, and no inter- 
weaving of plot in the fiction. 

The glance that we have taken at the habits and customs of 
life among the Chinese people, shows that while they lack many 
of the things that we have been taught to believe essential to 



182 POSSIBILITIES OF CHINA. 

civilization, they nevertheless are equipped with many good 
things. They have the same human instincts, and are ready and 
able to absorb learning with great rapidity, when once they be- 
come convinced of the value of it. It is their conservatism and 
their belief that they are the only truly civilized people in the 
world, while all others are barbarians, that has made them so 
slow to adopt any of the better things of western civilization. 
The war which this work records may prove to be the most 
effective means that could possibly have been devised to awaken 
China from the sleep of centuries, and convince her of the value 
and efficacy of western methods. If this prove true, a descrip- 
tion of China written a generation in the future may have to de- 
scribe the things here related as existing conditions, to be histor- 
ical facts after twenty years. 



J A PA N 










JAPANESE MUSICIAN. 




THE MIKADO AND HIS PRINCIPAL OFFICERS. 



HISTORICAIv SKETCH OF JAPAN FROM THE EARLI- 
EST TIMES TO FIRST CONTACT WITH 
EUROPEAN CIVIIvIZATlON. 



The Oldest Dynasty in the World and its Records— The First Emperor of Japan— Some 
of the Famous Early Rulers— Invasion and Conquest of Corea by the Empress Jingo— How 
Civilization Came from Corea to Japan— Tlie Kise of the Dual System of Government- 
Mikado and Shogun— Expulsion of the Hojo Dynasty of Shoguns— The Invasion of the 
Mongol Tartars— Annihilation of the Armada— Corruption of the Shogun Rule— Growth of 
the Feudal System— Another Conquest of Coi ea— Founding of the Last Dynasty of Shoguns 
—Advance of Japan m the Age of Hideyoshi. 

In a historical sketch of the life of a nation which counts 
twenty-five centuries of recorded history, but the briefest out- 
line can be given. The scope of such a work as this does not 
admit of minute historical details. When it is said that tradi- 
tions exist carrying back the history for a number of years which 
requires several hundred ciphers to measure, the effort to relate 
even an outline becomes almost appalling. Until the twelfth cen- 
tury of our era, Europe did not know even of the existence of 
Japan ; and the reports which were then brought by Marco Polo, 
who had learned of the island empire of Zipangu from the 
Chinese were as vague as they were enticing. The successes of 
the Jesuit missionaries led by Xavier, and tlie commercial inter- 
course established by the Portuguese in the latter part of the 
16th century, and by the Dutch somewhat later, promised to dis- 
close the mysteries of the far Pacific empire ; but within a few 
generations these were more hopelessly than ever sealed against 
foreign intrusion. Only forty years ago the United States of 
America knocked at the door of Japan, met a welcome under 
protest, and the country began to open to western civilization. 
Even yet the great mass of the people of our own country have 
far from a right conception of the ancient civilization which has 
for ages prevailed in these islands of the Pacific. 

The Japanese imperial dynasty is the oldest in the world. 
Two thousand five hundred and fifty-four years ago in 660 B. C, 

(187> 



188 THE OLDEST DYNASTY IN THE WORLD. 

the sacred histories relate that Jimmu Tenno commenced to 
reign as the first Mikado, or Emperor of Japan. The sources of 
Japanese history are rich and solid, historical writings forming 
the largest and most important divisions of their voluminous 
literature. The period from about the ninth century until the 
present time is treated very fully, vrhile the real history of the 
period prior to the eighth century of the Christian era is very 
meagre. It is nearly certain that the Japanese possessed no 
writing until the sixth century A. D. Their oldest extant com- 
position is the " Kojiki," or *' Book of Ancient Traditions." It 
may be called the Bible of the Japanese. It comprises three 
volumes, composed A. D, 711-712, and is said to have been 
preceded by two similar works about one hundred years earlier, 
but neither of these have been preserved. The first volume 
treats of the creation of the heavens and earth, the gods and 
goddesses, and the events of the holy age or mythological period. 
The second and third give the history of the mikados from the 
year I (660 B. C.) to the year 1280 of the Japanese era. It Avas 
first printed in the years A. D. 1624-1642. The "Nihongi" 
completed A. D. 720 also contains a Japanese record of the 
mythological period, and brings down the annals of the mikados 
to A. D. 699. These are the oldest books in the language. They 
contain so much that is fabulous, mj^thical or exaggerated, that 
their statements especially in respect of dates cannot be ac- 
cepted as true history. A succession of historical works of 
apparent reliability illustrate the period between the eighth and 
the eleventh centuries, and still better ones treat of the mediaeval 
period from the eleventh to the sixteenth century. The period 
from 1600 to 1853 is less known than others in earlier times, 
because of mandates that existed forbidding the production of 
contemporary histories. 

Whatever may be the actual fact, Jimmu Tenno is popularly 
believed to have been a real person and the first emperor of 
Japan. He is deified in the Shinto religion, and in thousands of 
shrines dedicated to him the people Avorship his spirit. In one 
official list of mikados he is named as the first. Tlie reigning 
Emperor refers to him as his ancestor, from whom he claims 
unbroken descent as the 123rd member of this dynasty. The 



FIRST EMPEROR OF JAPAN. 



189 



seventh day of April is fixed as the anniversary of his ascension 
to the throne and that day is a national holiday on which the 
birth, the accession and death of this national hero are still 
annually celebrated. Then one may see flags flying from both 
public and private buildings, and hear the reverberations of a 
royal salute fired by the ironclad navy of modern Japan from 
Krupp guns, and 
by the military in 
French uniforms 
from Remington 
rifles. The era of 
Jimmu is the start- 
ing point of Jap- 
anese clironology, 
and the year I of 
the Japanese era is 
that upon which 
he ascended the 
throne at Kashiwa- 
vara. 

In the beginning 
there existed, ac- 
cording to one in- 
terpretation of the 
somewhat perplex- 
ing Shinto mythol- 
ogy, chaos, which 
contained the 
germs of all things. 
From this was 
evolved a race of Japanese god of thunder. 

heavenly beings and celestial '' Kami " of whom Tzanagi, a 'male, 
and Izanami, a female, were the last individuals. Other authori- 
ties on Shinto maintain that infinite space and not chaos existed 
in the beginning ; others again that in the beginning there was 
one god. However, all agree as to the appearance on the scene 
of Izanagi and Izanami, and it is with these we are here con- 
cerned; for by their union were produced the islands of Japan, 




190 



JAPANESE ACCOUNTS OF THE CREATION. 



and among their children were Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and 
her younger brother, Susanoo, afterward appointed god of the 
sea. On account of her bright beauty the former was made 
queen of the sun, and had given to her a share on the govern- 
ment of the earth. To Ninigi-no-mikoto, her grandson, she 

afterward consign- 
ed absolute rule 
over the earth, 
sending him down 
by the floating 
r" bridge of heaven 
upon the summit 
of the mountain 
K i r i s h i m a-y ama. 
He took with him 
the three Japanese 
regalia, the sacred 
mirror, now in one 

^^1 '^2/£<5giy3BM^BPEEa^cv'Nr ^ ^^ ^^^® Shinto 

a\-^^ jC">'^^^^^Mi|^^3lB|^^^^r^^^fe shrines of Ise; the 
f c ^V t?^^^^HySdHil^BS!:i*8^i^^^=^ "'■ sword, now treas- 
ured in the temple 
of Atsuta, near 
Nagoya; and the 
ball of rock crys- 
tal in possession 
of the emperor. 
On the accomplish- 
ment of the de- 
scent, the sun and 
the earth receded 
from one another, 
and communica- 
tion by means of 
the floating bridge ceased. Jimmu Tenno, the first historic 
emperor of Japan, was the great grandson of Ninigi-no-mikoto. 

According to the indigenous religion of Japan, therefore, a 
religion which even since the adoption of western civilization has 




JAPANESE GOD OP RIDING. 




JAPANESE PEASANTRY. 



SACREDNESS OF THE MIKADO. 193 

been patronized by the state, the mikados are directly descended 
from the sun goddess, the principal Shinto divinity. Having re- 
ceived from her the three sacred treasures, they are invested with 
authority to rule over Japan as long as the sun and moon shall 
endure. Their minds are in perfect harmony with hers ; there- 
fore they cannot err and must receive implicit obedience. Such 
is the traditional theory as to the position of the Japanese emperors, 
a theory which was advanced in its most elaborate form, as 
recently as the last century, by Motoori, a writer on Shinto, which 
of late years has no doubt been much modified or even utterly 
discarded by many of the more enlightened among the people. 
Even yet, however, it is far from having been abandoned by the 
masses. 

The mikados being thus regarded as semi-divinities, it is not 
surprising that the very excess of veneration showed them tended 
more and more to weaken their actual power. They were too 
sacred to be brought much into contact with ordinary mortals, 
too sacred even to have their divine countenances looked upon by 
any but a select few. Latterly it was only the nobles immediately 
around him that ever saw the mikado's face ; others might be 
admitted to the imperial presence, but it was only to get a glimpse 
from behind a curtain of a portion of the imperial form, less or 
more according to their rank. When the mikado went out into 
the grounds of his palace in Kioto, matting was spread for him 
to walk upon ; when he left the palace precincts he Avas borne in 
a sedan chair, the blinds of which were carefully drawn down. 
The populace prostrated themselves as the procession passed, but 
none of them ever saw the imperial form. In short, the mikados 
ultimately became virtual prisoners. Theoretically gifted with 
all political knowledge and power, they were less the masters 
of their own actions than many of the humblest of their subjects. 
Although nominally the repositories of all authority, they had 
practically no share in the management of the national affairs. 
The isolation in which it was deemed proper that they should be 
kept, prevented them from acquiring the knowledge requisite for 
governing, and even had that knowledge been obtained, gave no 
opportunity for its manifestation. 

From the death of Jimmu Tenno to that of Kimmei, in whose 
10 



194 THE REIGN OF THE GOOD SUJIN. 

reign Buddhism was introduced, A. D. 571, there were thirty 
raikados. During this period of one thousand three hundred and 
thirty -six years, believed to be historic by most Japanese, the most 
interesting subjects are the reforms of Sujin Tenno, the military 
expeditions to eastern Japan by Yamato-Dake, the invasion of 
Corea by the Empress Jingo Kogo, and the introduction of 
Chinese civilization and Buddhism. 

Sujin-or Shujin, B. C. 97-30, was a man of intense earnestness 
and piety. His prayers to the gods for the abatement of a plague 
were answered, and a revival of religious feeling and worship 
ensued. He introduced many forms in the practices of religion 
and the manners of life. He appointed his own daughter priestess 
of the shrine and custodian of the symbols of the three holy 
regalia, which had hitherto been kept in the palace of the mikado. 
This custom lias continued to the present time, and the shrines of 
Uji in Ise, which now hold the sacred mirror, are always in charge 
of a virgin princess of imperial blood. 

The whole life of Sujin was one long effort to civilize his half 
savage subjects. He regulated taxes, established a periodical 
census, and encouraged the building of boats. He may also be 
called the father of Japanese agriculture, since he encouraged it 
by edict and example, ordering canals to be dug, water courses 
provided, and irrigation to be extensively carried on. 

The energies of this pious mikado were further exerted in de- 
vising a national military system whereby his peacably disposed 
subjects could be protected, and the extremities of his realm 
extended. The eastern and northern frontiers were exposed to 
the assaults of the wild tribes of Ainos, who were yet unsubdued. 
Between the peaceful agricultural inhabitants and the untamed 
savages a continual border war existed. A military division of 
the empire into four departments was made, and a shogun or 
general appointed over each. The half subdued inhabitants in 
the extremes of the realm needed constant watching, and seem to 
have been as restless and treacherous as the Indians on our own 
frontiers. The whole history of the extension and development 
of the mikado's empire is one of war and blood, rivalling that of 
our own country in its early struggles with the Indians. This 
constant military action and life in a camp resulted, in the course 



THE GREAT EMPRESS JINGO. 195 

of time, in the creation of a powerful and numerous military class, 
who made war professional and hereditary. It developed that 
military genius and character which so distinguish the modern 
Japanese and mark them in such strong contrast with other na- 
tions of eastern Asia. 

Towards the end of the first century A. D., Yamato-Dake, son 
of the emperor Keiko, reduced most of the Ainos of the north to 
submission. These savages fought much after the manner of the 
North American Indian, using their knowledge of woodcraft most 
effectually, but the young prince with a well equipped array em- 
barked on a fleet of ships and reaching their portion of the island, 
fought them until they were glad to surrender. 

It was in the third century that the Empress Jingo invaded and 
conquered Corea. In all Japanese tradition or history, there is 
no greater female character than this empress. She was equally 
renowned for her beauty, piety, intelligence, energy and martial 
valor. To this woman belongs the glory of the conquest of 
Corea, whence came letters, religion and civilization to Japan. 
Tradition is that it was directly commanded her by the gods to 
cross the water and attack Corea. Her husband, the emperor, 
doubting the veracity of this message from the gods, was forbid- 
den by them any share in the enterprise. 

Jingo ordered her generals and captains to collect troops, build 
ships, and be ready to embark. She disguised herself as a man, 
proceeded with the recruiting of soldiers and the building of 
ships, and in the year 201 A. D. was ready to start. Before 
starting. Jingo issued these orders for her soldiers : " No loot. 
Neither despise a few enemies nor fear many. Give mercy to 
those who yield but no quarter to the stubborn. Rewards shall 
be apportioned to the victors, punishments shall be meted to the 
deserters." 

It was not very clear in the minds of these ancient filibusters 
where Corea was, or for what particular point of their horizon 
they were to steer. They had no chart or compass. The sun, 
stars and the flight of birds were their guide. None of them be- 
fore had ever known of the existence of such a country as Corea, 
but the same gods that had commanded the invasion protected 
the invaders, and in due time they landed in southern Corea. 



196 



INVASION AND CONQUEST OF COREA. 



The king of this part of the country had heard from his messen- 
gers of the coming of a strange fleet from the east, and terrified 
exclaimed, "We never knew there was any country outside of 
us. Have our gods forsaken us ? " 

It was a bloodless invasion, for there was no fighting to do. 
The Coreans came holding white flags and surrendered, offering 

to give up their treas- 
ures. They took an 
oath to become hostages 
and be tributary to 
Japan. Eighty ships 
well laden with gold 
and silver, articles of 
wealth, silks and pre- 
cious goods of all kinds, 
and eighty hostages, 
men of high families, 
were given to the con- 
querors. The stay of 
the Japanese army in 
Corea was very brief, 
and the troops returned 
in two months. Jingo 
was, on her arrival, de- 
livered of a son, wlio in 
the popular estimation 
of gods and mortals 
holds even a higher 
place of honor than his 
mother, who is believed 
to have conquered 
southern Corea through 
the power of her yet 
unborn illustrious offspring. The motive which induced the 
invasion into Corea seems to have been mere love of war and 
conquest, and the Japanese still refer with great pride to this, 
their initial exploit on foreign soil. 

The son Ojin, who became the emperor, was, after his death, 




JAPANESE GOD OF WAR. 




TOKIO— TYPES AND COSTUMES. 



CONTINENTAL CIVILIZATION REACHES JAPAN. 199 

deified and worshipped as the god of war, Hachiman, and down 
through the centuries he has been worshiped by all classes of 
people, especially by soldiers, who offer their prayers and pay 
their vows to him. Ojin was also a man of literary tastes, and it 




JAPANESE MUSICIAN. 



was during his reign that Japan began to profit from the learning 
of the Coreans, who introduced the study of the Chinese lan- 
guage, and indeed the art of writing itself. During the immedi- 
ately succeeding centuries various emperors and empresses were 



200 



CONTINENTAL CTVTLTZATION REACHES JAPAN. 



eminent for their zeal in encouraging the arts of peace. Archi 
tects, painters, physicians, musicians, dancers, chronologists, arti- 
sans and fortune tellers were brought over from Corea to instruct 
the people, but not all of these came at once. Immigration was 
gradual, but the coming of so many immigrants brought new 
blood, ideas, methods and improvements. Japan received from 
China, through Corea, what she has been receiving from America 
and Europe for the last forty years — a new civilization. The 
records report the arrival of tailors in 283 and horses in 284 from 
Corea to Japan. Tn 285 a Corean scholar came to Japan, and re- 
siding at the court, instructed the mikado's son in writing. In 

462 mulberry trees 
were planted, to- 
gether with the silk 
worm, for whose sus- 
tenance they were 
implanted, from 
China or Corea. And 
this marks the begin- 
ning of silk culture 
"^ in Japan. When in 

I 1^ ^ ^^^ ^^^® company of 
'^^^ ' doctors, astronomers 
and mathematicians 
came from Corea to 
live at the Japanese 
court, they brought 
with them Buddhist missionaries, and this maybe called the intro- 
duction of continental civilization. Beginning witli Jingo, there 
seems to have poured into the island empire a stream of immi- 
grants, skilled artisans, scholars and teachers, bringing arts, litera- 
ture and religion. This was the first of three great waves of 
foreign civilization in Japan. The first was from China, through 
Corea, in the sixth ; the second from western Europe in the fif- 
teenth century; the third was fronr America, Europe and the 
world, in the decade following the advent of Commodore Perry. 
In the eighth century, during the greater part of which the 
capital of the country was the city of Nara, about thirty miles 




JAPANESE SILK SPINxNER. 



NOBLE FAMILIES BEGIN TO RISE. 201 

from Kioto, Japan had largely under the government of empresses 
reached a most creditable stage of progress in the arts of peace. 
Near the close of the eighth century the emperor Kuwammu took 
up his residence at Kioto, which until 1868 remained the capital 
of the country, and is even now dignified with the name of Saikiyo, 
or "Western Ca[)ital." Here he built a palace very unlike the 
simple dwelling in which his predecessors had been content to 
live. It had a dozen gates, and around it was reared a city with 
twelve hundred streets. The palace, he named " the Castle of 
Peace," but for years it proved the very centre of the feuds which 
soon began to distract the country. This did not happen however 
until some centuries after the death of Kuwammu. But even 
after his time there were not wanting indications that the control 
of affairs was destined to slip into the hands of certain powerful 
families at the imperial court. 

The first family to rise into eminence was that of Fujiwara, a 
member of which it was that got Kuwammu placed upon the 
throne. For centuries the Fujiwaras controlled the civil affairs 
of the empire, but a more important factor in bringing about the 
reduction of the mikado's power and the establishment of that 
strange system of government which was destined to be so char- 
acteristic of Japan, was the rise into power of the rival houses of 
Taira and Minamoto, otherwise called respectfully Hei and Gen. 
This system of government has almost always been misunderstood 
in America and Europe. Two rulers in two capitals gave to for- 
eigners the impression that there were two emperors in Japan, an 
idea that has been incorporated into most of the text books, and 
encyclopedias of Christendom. Let it be clearly understood how- 
ever that there never was but one emperor in Japan, the mikado, 
who is and always was the only sovereign, though his measure of 
power has been very different at different times. Until the rise 
and domination of the military classes, he was in fact, as well as 
by law, supreme. 

With the feuds of Hei and Gen commences an entirely new era 
in the history of the country, an era replete with tales alike of 
bloodshed, intrigue and chivalry. We see the growth of a feudal 
system at least as elaborate as that of Europe, and strangely 



202 BIRTH OF FAMILY FEUDS. 

enough, assuming almost identical forms, and that during the same 
period. 

The respective founders of the Taira and Minamoto families 
were Taira Takamochi and Minamoto Tsunemoto, two warriors 
of the tenth century. Their descendants were for generations 
military vassals of the mikado, and were distinguished by red and 
white flags, colors which suggest the red and white roses of the 
rival English houses of Lancaster and York. For years the two 
houses served the emperor faithfully; but even before any 
quarrel had arisen between them, the popularity of the head of 
the Minamoto clan, with the soldiers with whom he had been 
placed, so alarmed the emperor Toba (1108-1124, A. D.) that he 
issued an edict forbidding the Samurai, the military class, of any 
of the provinces, from constituting themselves the retainers of 
either of these two families. 

It was in the year 1156 that the feuds between the two houses 
broke out, and it arose in this way. At the accession of Go-Shir- 
akawa to the throne in that year, there were living two ex-em- 
perors who would seem to have voluntarily abdicated ; one of them, 
however, Shutoku, was averse to the accession of the heir, being 
himself anxious to resume the imperial power. His cause was es- 
poused by Tameyoshi, the head of the Minamoto house, while 
among the supporters of Go-Shirakawa was Kiyomori, of the house 
of Taira. In the conflict which followed, Go-Shirakawa was success- 
ful, and immediately thereafter we find Taira Kiyomori appointed 
Daijo-Daijin, or prime minister, with practically all political power 
in his hands. On the abdication within a few years of the mikado, 
the prime minister was able to put whatever member of the im- 
perial house he willed upon the throne ; and being himself allied 
by marriage to the imperial family, he at length saw the accession 
of his own grandson, a mere babe. Thus, to use the term con- 
nected with European feudalism of the same period, the mayor of 
the palace virtually, though not nominally, usurped the imperial 
functions. The emperor had the name of power but Kiyomori 
had the reality. 

But this state of matters was not destined to last long. The 
Minamotos were far from being finally quieted. The story of 
the revival of their power is a romantic one, but we cannot dwell 



tiOMANCE AND HISTORY COMBINED. 203 

upon it. It was in the battle of Atiji that Kiyomoii seemed at 
length to have quelled his rivals. Yoshitomo, the head of the 
Miiiamoto clan was slain in the fight, but his beautiful wife 
Tokiwa succeeded in escaping with her three little sons. 
Tokiwa's mother, however, was arrested. This roused the 
(laughter to make an appeal to Kiyomori for pardon. She did 
so, presenting herself and children to the conqueror, upon whom 
her beauty so wrought that he granted her petition. He made 
her his concubine, and not withstanding the remonstrances of his 
retainers, also spared the children who were sent to a monastery, 
there to be trained for the priesthood. Two of these children 
became famous in the history of Japan. The eldest was 
Yoritomo the founder of the Kamakura dynasty of shoguns, and 
the babe at the mother's breast was Yoshitsune, one of the 
flowers of Japanese chivalry, a hero whose name even yet 
awakens the enthusiasm of the youth of Japan and who so im- 
pressed the Ainos of the north whom he had been sent to subdue, 
that to this day he is worshiped as their chief god. A Japanese 
has even lately written a book in which he seeks to identify 
Yoshitsune with Genghis Khan. 

It is unnecessary to dwell on the circumstances which brought 
Yoritomo and Yoshitsune into note ; how the two brothers raised 
the men of the eastern provinces, and after a temporary check at 
the pass of Hakone, succeeded in utterly routing the Taira 
forces in a dreadful battle, half by land and half by sea, at the 
straits of Shimonoseki. Suffice it to say, that Yoshitsune having 
been slain soon after a famous victory, through the treachery of 
his brother Yoritomo, who was jealous of his fame and popu- 
larity, that warrior was left without a rival. Yoritomo received 
from the emperor the highest title which could be conferred 
upon him, that of Sei-i-tai-shogun, literally "Barbarian-subjuga- 
ting great general." This title is generally contracted to shogun, 
which means simply general. Thus appointed generalissimo of 
all the imperial forces, he looked about for a cit}^ which he might 
make the center of his power. This he found in Kamakura about 
fifteen miles westward of the site of the modern Yokohama. 

Thus before the close of the twelfth century was founded that 
system of dual government which lasted with little change until 



204 ORIGIN OF THE SYSTEM OF DUAL GOVERNMENT. 

the year 1868. The Mikado reigned in Kioto with the authority 
of his sacred person undisputed ; but the shogun in his eastern 
city had really all the public business of the country in his own 
hands. It was he who appointed governors over the different 
provinces and was the real master of the country ; but every act 
was done in the name of the emperor whose nominal power thus 
remained intact. 

Yoritomo virtually founded an independent dynasty at 
Kamakura, but it was not destined to be a lasting one. His son 
Yoriye succeeded him in 1199, but was shortly afterwards 
deposed and assassinated ; and the power though not the title of 
shogun passed to the family of Yoritomo's wife, that of Hojo, 
different members of which swayed the state for more than a 
century. 

After a checkered career of various shoguns of the Hojo 
family, their tyranny became supreme. None of the family ever 
seized the office of shogun, but in reality they wielded all and 
more of the power attaching to the office. The political history 
of these years is but that of a monotonous recurrence of the 
exaltation of boys and babies of noble blood to whom was given 
the semblance of power, who were sprinkled with titles and 
deposed as soon as they were old enough to be troublesome. In 
an effort made by the ex-emperor Gotoba to drive the usurping 
Hojo from power the chains were riveted tighter than ever. 
The imperial troops were massacred by the conquering Hojo. 
The estates of all who fought on the emperor's side were con- 
fiscated and distributed among the minions of the usurpers. The 
exiled emperor died of a broken heart. The nominal Mikado of 
Kioto and the nominal shogun at Kamakura were set up, but the 
Hojo were the keepers of both. The oppression, the neglect of 
public business and the carousals of the usurpers became intoler- 
able. Armies were raised spontaneously to support the emperor 
and the Ashikaga leader in their revolt against the existing evils. 
All over the empire the people rose against their oppressors and 
massacred them. The Hojo domination which had been par- 
amount for nearly one hundred and fifty years was utterly 
broken. 

The Hojo have never been forgiven for their arbitrary treatment 



OPPRESSIONS OF TIIIC USURPING HOJOS. 



205 



of the Mikii'los. Every obloquy is cast upon them by Japanese 
historians, dramatists, poets and novelists, and yet there is an- 
other side to the story. It must be conceded that the Hojos were 
able rulers and kept order and peace in the empire for more than 
a century. They encouraged literature and the cultivation of the 
arts and sciences. During their period the resources of the 
country were developed, and some branches of useful handicraft 
and fine arts were brought to a perfection never since surpassed. 
To this time belongs the fa- 
mous image carver, sculptor 
and architect, Unkei, and the 
lacquer artists who are the 
"old masters" in this branch 
of art. The military spirit 
of the people was kept alive, 
tactics were improved, and 
the methods of governmental 
administration simplified. 
During this period of splen- 
did temples, monasteries, 
pagodas, colossal images and 
other monuments of holy 
zeal, Hojo Sadatoki erected a 
monument over tlie grave of 
Kiyomori at Hiogo. Hojo 
Tokimune raised and kept in 
readiness a permanent war 
fund so that tlie military ex- 
penses might not interfere 
with the revenue reserved 
for ordinary government expenses. To his invincible cournge, 
patriotic pride, and indomitable energy are due the vindication of 
the national honor and the repulse of the Tartar invasion. 

During the early centuries of the Christian era, Japan and 
China kept up friendly intercourse, exchanging embassies on vari- 
ous missions, but chiefly with the mutual object of bearing con- 
gratulations to an emperor upon his accession to the throne. The 
civil disorders in both countries interrupted these friendly rela- 




COLOSSAL JAPANESE IMAGE FIFTY FEET 
HIGH. 



206 FRlENnSHtP OF CHINA AND JAPAN. 

tious in the twelTth century, and communication ceased. When 
the acquaintance was renewed in the time of the Hojo it was not 
on so friendly a footing. 

In China the Mongol Tartars had overthrown the Sung dynasty 
and had conquered the adjacent country. Tlirough the Coreans 
the Mongol emperor, Kublai Khan, at whose court Marco Polo 
and his uncles were then visiting, sent letters demanding tribute 
and homage from Japan. Chinese envoys came to Kamakura, 
but Hojo Tokimune, enraged at the insolent demands, dismissed 
them in disgrace. Six embassies were sent, and six times re- 
jected. An expedition from China consisting of ten thousand 
men was then sent against Japan. They landed, were attacked, 
their commander was slain, and they returned, having accom- 
plished nothing. The Chinese emperor now sent nine envoys to 
announce their purpose to remain until a definite answer was re- 
turned to their master. They were called to Kamakura, and the 
Japanese reply was given by cutting off their heads. The Jap- 
anese now began to prepare for war on land and sea. Once more 
Chinese envoys came to demand tribute. These were decapi- 
tated. Meanwhile the armada was preparing. Great China was 
coming to crush the little strip of land that refused homage to the 
invincible conqueror. The army numbered one hundred thousand 
Chinese and Tartars, and seven thousand Coreans in ships that 
whitened the sea. They numbered three thousand five hundred 
in all. It was in July, 1281, that the sight of the Chinese junks 
greeted the watchers on the hills of Daizaifu. Many of the junks 
were of immense proportion, larger than the natives of Japan had 
ever seen, and armed with the engines of European warfare which 
their Venetian guests had taught the Mongols to construct and 
work. The naval battle that ensued was a terrible one. The 
Japanese had small chance of success in the water, owing to the 
smallness of their boats, but in personal valor they were much 
superior, and some of their deeds of bravery are inspiringly inter- 
esting. Nevertheless the Cliinese were unable to effect a landing, 
owing to the heavy fortifications along the shore. 

The whole nation was now roused. Re-enforcements poured in 
from all quarters to swell the hosts of defenders. From the mon- 
asteries and temples all over the country went up unceasing 





* V. - 



JAPANESE FEMALE TYPES. 



JAPAN REFUSES TRIBUTE TO CHINA. 



209 



prayer to the gods to ruin their enemies and save the land of 
Japan. The emperor and ex-emperor went in solemn state to the 




SHINTO TEMPLE, 



chief priest of Shinto, and writing out their petitions to the gods 
sent him as a messenger to the shrines of Ise. It is recorded as a 



210 INVASION AND DEFEAT OF THE CHINESE. 

miraculous fact that at the hour of noon as the sacred envoy 
arrived at the shrine and offered a prayer, the day being perfectly 
clear, a streak of cloud appeared in the sky that soon overspread 
the heavens, until the dense masses portended a storm of awful 
violence. One of those cyclones called by the Japanese tai-fu, of 
appalling velocity and resistless force, such as whirl along the 
coast of Japan and China during late summer and earl}^ fall of 
every year, burst upon the Chinese fleet. Nothing can withstand 
these maelstorms of the air. We call them typhoons. Iron steam- 
ships of thousands of horse power are almost unmanageable in 
them. The helpless Chinese junks were crushed together, impaled 
on the rocks, dashed against the cliffs or tossed on land like corks 
on the spray. Hundreds of the vessels sank. The corpses were 
piled on the shore or floating on the water so thickly that it 
seemed almost possible to walk thereon. The vessels of the sur- 
vivors in large numbers drifted or were wrecked upon Taka 
island, where they established themselves and cutting down trees 
began building boats to reach Corea. Here they were attacked 
by the Japanese, and after a bloody struggle, all the fiercer for the 
despair on the one side and the exultation on the other, were all 
slain or driven to the sea to be drowned except three, who were 
sent back to tell their emperor how the gods of Japan had de- 
stroyed their armada. 

This was the last time that China ever attempted to conquer 
Japan, whose people boast that their land has never been defiled 
by an invading army. They have ever ascribed the glory of the 
destruction of the Tartar fleet to the interposition of the gods of 
Ise, who tliereafter received special and grateful adoration as the 
guardian of the seas and the winds. Great credit and praise were 
given to the Lord of Kamakura, Hojo Tokimune, for his energy, 
ability and valor. The author of one native history says, "The 
repulse of the Tartar barbarians by Tokimune and his preserving 
the dominions of our Son of Heaven were sufficient to atone for 
the crimes of his ancestors." 

Nearly six centuries afterward when " the barbarian " Perry 
anchored his fleet in the bay of Yeddo, in the words of the native 
annalist, '* Orders were sent by the imperial court to the Shinto 
priest at Ise to offer up prayers for the sweeping away of the bar- 



RULE OF THE ASHIKAGA FAMILY. 



211 



barians." Millions of earnest hearts put up the same prayers their 
fathers had offered full}^ expecting the same result. 

To this day the Japanese mother hushes her fretful infant by 
the question, ''Do you think the Mongols are coming? " This is 
the only serious attempt at invasion ever made by any nation upon 
the shores of Japan. 

The internal his- 
tory of Japan dur- 
ing the period of 
time covered by 
the actual or nom-^ 
iiial rule of the 
Ashikaga family, 
from 1336 until^ 
1573, except the 
very last years of 
it, is not very at- 
tractive to a for- 
eign reader. It is 
a confused picture 
of intestinal war. 
It was by foul 
means that Ashi- 
kaga Takugi, one 
of the generals who 
overthrew the 
Hojos, attained the 
dignity of shogun, 
and a period of 
more than two 
centuries, during 
which his descend- 
ants held sway at Kamakura, was characterized by treachery, 
bloodshed and almost perpetual warfare. The founder of this 
line secured the favor of the mikado Go-Daigo, after he was re- 
called from exile, upon the overthrow of the military usurpation. 
Ashikaga soon seized the reins in his own hands. The mikado 
fled in terror, and a new mikado was declared in the person of 




JAPANESE GOD OF THE WIND. 



212 RISE AND PERFECTION OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 



another of the royal family. Of course this man was willing to 
confer upon Ashikaga, his supporter the title of shogun. Kama- 
kura again became a military capital. The duarchy was restored, 
and the war of the northern and southern dynasties began, to last 
fifty six years. 

The act by which more than any other the Ashikagas earned 
the curses of posterity, was the sending of an embassy to China in 
1401, bearing presents, acknowledging in a measure the authority 

of China, and accepting in return 
the title of Nippon O, or king of 
Japan. This which was done by 
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third of 
the line, was an insult to the 
jiatioual dignity for which he has 
never been forgiven. It was a 
needless humiliation of Japan to 
her airogant neighbor and done 
only to exalt the vanity and glory 
of the usurper, who, not content 
with adopting the st3de and equip- 
age of the mikado, wished to be 
called a kincr and vet dared not 
usurp the imperial throne. 

Japan of all the Asiatic nations 
^seems to have brought the feudal 
system to the highest state of per- 
fection. While in Europe the na- 
tions were engaged in throwing 
off the feudal yoke and inaugurat- 
ing modern government, Japan 
was riveting the fetters which stood intact until 1871. The 
daimios were practically independent chieftains, who ruled their 
own provinces as they willed; and the more ambitious and power- 
ful did not hesitate to make war upon the neighboring clans. 
There were on all sides struggles for pre-eminence in which the 
fittest survived, annexing to their own territories those of the 
weaker class which they had subdued. Nor was it merely rival 
clans that were disturbing the country. The Buddhist clergy 




DAIMTOS OF JAPAN. 









m 



j>^''^>/^^ 








^'-C 



SKETCH SHOWING DEVELOPMENT OF THE JAPANESE ARMY 
FROM 1867 TO THE PRESENT. 



:o tt::i:.:':o-tj7:: 



:t o'i" 



. V.' •,> 4. 






RISE AND PERFECTION OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 216 

had acquired immense political influence, which they were far 
from scrupulous in using. Their monasteries were in many cases 
castles, from which themselves living amid every kind of luxury, 




BUDDHIST PRIESTS. 



they tjTannized over the surrounding country. The history of 
these often reads strikingly like that of the corresponding insti- 
tutions in Europe daring the middle ages; indeed the hierarchical 
11 



216 THREE GREAT MEN AND THEIR CAREERS. 

as well as the feudal development of Europe and Japan have 
been wonderfully alike. 

Probably the three names most renowned in Japan are No- 
bunaga, Hideyoshi and lyeyasu. The second and third of these 
were generals subordinate to the first, who deposed the Ashikaga 
shoguns, persecuted the Buddhists, encouraged the Jesuits, and 
restored to a great extent the supremacy of the mikado. The 
Buddhists look on this leader as an incarnate demon sent to de- 
stroy their faith. He was a Shintoist, with bitter hatred for the 
Buddhists, and never lost an opportunity to burn property of his 
enemies or butcher priests, women, and children of that faith. 
These who have just been named, by their prowess and the 
strength of their armies, rose to highest positions among the dai- 
mios. 

When these three great men appeared, the country was in a 
most critical state. The later Ashikaga shoguns had become as 
powerless as the mikado himself in the management of affairs. 
Nobunaga first rose into note. By successive victories, he became 
ruler of additional provinces, and his fame became so great that 
the emperor committed to him the task of tranquilizing the 
country. He deposed first one usurping shogun and then another, 
and thus came an end to the domination of the Ashikagas. No- 
bunaga was now the most powerful man in the country, and was 
virtually discharging the duties of shogun though he never ob- 
tained the title. Hideyoshi became virtual lord of the empire, 
after the assassination of Nobunaga. He rose from the ranks of 
the peasants to the highest position in Japan under the emperor. 
Having in connection with Nobunaga and lyeyasu reduced all the 
Japanese clans into subjection, he looked abroad for some foreign 
power to subdue. 

The immoderate ambition of Hideyoshi's life was to conquer 
Corea, and even China. Under the declining power of Ashikaga, 
all tribute from Corea had ceased and the pirates who ranged the 
coasts scarcely allowed any trade to exist. We have seen how it 
was from Corea that Japan received Chinese learning and the arts 
of civilization, and Coreans swelled the number of Mongol Tar- 
tars who invaded Japan with the armada. On the other hand 
Corea was more than once overrun by Japanese armies, even 



CONQUEST OF COREA BY HIDEYOSHI. 217 

partly governed by Japanese officials, and on different occasions 
had to pay tribute to Japan in token of submission. Japanese 
pirates too were for six hundred years as much the terror of the 
Chinese and Corean costs as were the Danes and Norsemen of the 
shores of the North Sea. The discontinuance of the embassies 
and tribute from Corea, thus afforded the ambitious general a pre- 
text for disturbing the friendly relations with Corea, by the dis- 
patch of an embassador to complain of this neglect. The behav- 
ior of this embassador only too clearly reflected the swagger of 
his overbearing lord, and the consequence was an invasion of 
Corea. 

Hideyoshi promised to march his generals and army to Peking, 
and divide the soil of China among them. He also scorned the 
suggestion that scholars versed in Chinese should accompany the 
expedition. Said he, " This expedition will make the Chinese use 
our literature." Corea was completely overrun by Hideyoshi's 
forces, although the commander himself was unable to accompany 
the expedition, owing to his age and the grief of his mother. 
Further details of this invasion will be found later in the histori- 
cal sketch of Corea. It may be said here however, that the con- 
quest terminated ingloriously, and reflects no honor on Japan. 
The responsibility of the outrage upon a peaceful nation rests 
wholly upon Hideyoshi. The Coreans were a mild and peaceable 
people, wholly unprepared for war. There was scarcely a shadow 
of provocation for the invasion, which was nothing less than a 
huge filibustering scheme. It was not popular with the people or 
the rulers, and was only carried through by the will of the mili- 
tary leader. The sacrifice of life on either side must have been 
great, and all for the ambition of one man. Nevertheless, a party 
in Japan has long held that Corea was by the conquests of the 
third and sixteenth centuries a part of the Japanese empire, and 
the reader will see how 1772 and again in 1775 the cry of " On to 
Corea " shook the nation like an earthquake. 

After the deaths of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, Tokugawa lyey- 
asu was left the virtual ruler of Japan. At first he governed the 
country as regent, but his increasing popularity awoke the jeal- 
ousy of the partisans of Hideyori, the son of Hideyoshi, who was 
nominated as his successor, as well as of Nobunaga's family. 



218 



YEDDO BECOMES THE SEAT OF THE SHOGUN. 



These combined to overthrow him, and the consequence was the 
great battle of Sekigahara, fought m 1600, in which lyeyasu came 
off completely victorious. Three years later, he was appointed 
by the emperor shogun. Like Yorotomo he resolved to select a 
city as the center of his power, and that which seemed to him 
most suitable was not Kamakura, which ere this had lost much of 
its glor}^ but the little castle town of Yeddo, about thirty-five 
miles farther north. Here he and his successors, and the dynasty 
he founded, swayed the destinies of Japan from 1603 until the 
restoration in 1868. 




JAPANESE JUNK. 



It is not difficult to account for the tone of admiration and 
pride with which a modern Japanese speaks of " The age of 
Taiko." There are many who hold that Hideyoshi, or Taiko, 
was the real unifier of the empire. Certain it is that he origi- 
nated many of the most striking forms of national administra- 
tion. In his time the arts and sciences were not only in a very 
flourishing condition, but gave promise of rich development. The 
spirit of military enterprise and internal national improvement 
was at its height. Contact with the foreigners of many nations 
awoke a spirit of inquiry and intellectual activity ; but it was on 



o 

D 
H 



< — I 

> 

> 
W 

CO 

W 
W 




POSITION OF JAPAN AT THIS PEPIOD. 



221 



the seas that geiiias and restless activity found their most con- 
genial field. 

This era is marked by the highest production in marine arclu- 
tecture, and the extent and variety of commercial enterprise. 
The ships built in this century were twice the size and vastly the 
superior in model of the janks that now hug the Japanese shores 
or ply between China and Japan. The pictures of them pre- 




SCENES OF INDUSTRIAL LIFE. (Froiii a Japanese Album.) 

served to the present day, show that they were superior in size to 
the vessels of Columbus, and nearly equal in sailing qualities to 
the contemporary Dutch and Portuguese galleons. They were 
provided with ordnance, and a model of a Japanese breech-load- 
ing cannon is still preserved in Kioto. Ever a brave and adven- 
turous people, the Japanese then roamed the seas with a freedom 



222 POSITION OF JAPAN AT THIS PERIOD. 

that one who knows only of tlie modern bound people would 
scarcely credit. Voyages of trade, discovery or piracy have been 
made to India, Siam, Birmah, the Philippine Islands, Southern 
China, the Malay Archipelago and the Kuriles, even in the fif- 
teenth century, but were more numerous in the sixteenth. The 
Japanese literature contains many references to these adventur- 
ous sailors, and when the records of the far east are thoroughly 
investigated, and this subject fully studied, very interesting re- 
sults are apt to be obtained showing the widespread influence of 
Japan at a time when she Avas scarcely known by the European 
world to have existence. 



HISTORICAI. SKETCH FROM THE COMING OF THE 

FIRST EUROPEAN TRAVELERS TO THE 

PRESENT TIME. 



A New Dynasty of Shoguns— Mendez Pinto's Visit— Arrival of the Jesuit Missionaries- 
Kind Reception of Christianity— Quarrels Between the Sects— Beginning of Christian Per- 
secution—Expulsion of the Missionaries— Torture and Martyrdom— The Massacre of Shim, 
abara— Expulsion of all Foreigners— Closing tlie Door of Japan— History of the Last Sho- 
gunate— Arrival of Commodore Perry's Fleet— The Knock at the Door of Japan— An Era of 
Treaty Making— Rapid Advance of Western Manners and Ideas in Japan— Attacks on For- 
eigners—The Abolition of the Shogunate— Japan's Last Quarter Century. 

Hitherto we have seen two readily distinguishable periods in 
the history of Japan, the period during which the mikados were 
the actual as well as the nominal rulers of the empire ; and the 
period during which the imperial power more and more passed 
into the hands of usurping mayors of the palace, and the country 
was kept in an almost constant ferment with the feuds of rival 
noble families which coveted this honor. Successively the 
power, although not always the title, of shogun, had been held 
by members of the Minamoto, Hojo, Ashikaga, Ota and Toyo- 
tomi families. With lyeyasu we pass into a third period, like the 
second in that the dual system of feudal government still pre- 
vailed, but unlike it in that it was a period of peace. Much 
strife had accompanied the erection of the fabric of feudalism, 
but it now stood complete. The mikado in Kioto and the 
daimios in their different provinces, alike ceased to protest 
against the dual administration. Within certain limits they had 
the regulation of their own affairs; the mikado was ever rec- 
ognized as the source of all authority, and the daimios in their 
own provinces were petty kings ; but it was the shogun in Yeddo 
who, undisputed, at least in practice, whatever some of the more 
powerful daimios may have said, swayed the destinies of the em- 
pire. 

Let us now note the policy which the Shoguns adopted towards 
the foreigners who as missionaries or merchants had found their 

(223) 



224 THE BEGINNINGS OF EXPLORATION. 

way to Japan, and the course of settlement and trade of 
foreigners. 

It seems now certain that when Columbus set sail from Spain 
to discover a new continent, it was not America he was seeking, 
but the land of Japan. Marco Polo, the Venetian traveler, had 
spent seventeen years, 1275-1292, at the court of the Tartar 
emperor Kublai Khan, and while in Peking had heard of a land 
lying to the eastward, called in the language of the Chinese, Zip- 
angu, from which our modern name Japan has been corrupted. 
Columbus was an ardent student of Polo's book, which had been 
published in 1298. He sailed westward across the Atlantic to 
find this kingdom. He discovered not Japan, but an archipelago 
in America on whose shores he eagerly inquired concerning Zip- 
angu. Following this voyage, Vasco de Gam a and a host of 
other brave Portuguese navigators sailed into the Orient and 
came back to tell of densely populated empires enriched with the 
wealth that makes civilization possible, and of which Europe had 
scarcely heard. Their accounts fired the hearts of the zealous 
who longed to convert the heathen, aroused the cupidity of 
traders who thirsted for gold, and kindled the desire of monarchs 
to found empires in Asia. 

Mendez Pinto, a Portuguese adventurer, seems to have been 
the first European who landed on Japanese soil. On his return 
to Europe he told so many wonderful stories that by a pun on 
his Christian name he was dubbed "the mendacious." His nar- 
rative was, however, as we now know, substantially correct. 
Pinto while in China had got on board a Chinese junk, com- 
manded by a pirate. They were attacked by another corsair, their 
pilot was killed, and the vessel was driven off the coast by a 
storm. They made for the Liu Kin Islands, but unable to find a 
harbor, put to sea again. After twenty-three days' beating 
about, they sighted the islands of Tanegashima and landed. Tlie 
name of the island, " island of the seed," was significant. The 
arrival of these foreigners was a seed of troubles innumerable. 
The crop was priestcraft of the worst type, political intrigue, re- 
ligious persecution, the inquisition, the slave trade, the propaga- 
tion of Christianity by the sword, sedition, rebellion, and civil war. 
Its harvest was garnered in the blood of sixty-thousand Japanese. 



FIRST AREIVAL OF EUROPEANS IN JAPAN. 225 

The native histories recount the first arrival of Europeans in 
1542, and note that year as the one in which fire-arms were first 
introduced. The pirate trader who brought Pinto to Japan 
cleared twelve hundred per cent, on his cargo, and the three Por- 
tuguese returned to China loaded with presents. The new 
market attracted hundreds of Portuguese adventurers to Japan, 
who found a ready welcome. The missionary followed the mer- 
chant. Already the Portuguese priests and Franciscan friars 
were numerous in India. Two Jesuits and two Japanese who 
had been converted at Goa, headed by Xavier, landed at 
Kagoshima in 1549. Xavier did not have great success, and in a 
short time left Japan disheartened. He had, however, inspired 
others who followed him, and their success was amazingly great. 

The success ©f the Jesuit missionaries soon attracted the 
attention of the authorities. Organ tin, a Jesuit missionary in 
Kioto, writing of his experiences, says that he was asked his name 
and why he had come to Japan. He replied that he was the 
Padre Organtin and had come to spread religion. He was told 
that he could not be allowed at once to spread his religion, but 
would be informed later on. Nobunaga accordingly took counsel 
with his retainers as to whether he would allow Christianity to be 
preached or not. One of these strongly advised not to do so, on 
the ground that there were already enough religions in the coun- 
try, but Nobunaga replied that Buddhism had been introduced 
from abroad and had done good in the country, and he therefore 
did not see why Christianity should not be granted a trial. 
Organtin was consequently allowed to erect a church and to 
send for others of his order, who, when they came, were found 
to be like him in appearance. Their plan of action was to care 
for the sick, and so prepare the way for the reception of Christi- 
anity, and then to convert every one and make the thirty-six pro- 
vinces of Japan subject to Portugal. In this last clause we have 
an explanation of the policy which the Japanese government 
ultimately adopted towards Christianity and all foreign innova- 
tions. Within five years after Xavier visited Kioto, seven 
churches were established in the vicinity of the city itself, while 
scores of Christian communities had sprung up in the south-west. 



226 RAPID PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 

In 1581 there were two hundred churches and one hundred and 
fifty thousand native Christians. 

In 1583 an embassy of four young noblemen was dispatched by 
the Christian daimios to the pope to declare themselves vassals 
of the Holy See. They returned after eight years, having had au- 
dience of Phillip 11. of Spain, and kissed the feet of the pope at 
Rome. They brought with them seventeen Jesuit missionaries, 
an important addition to the list of religious instructors. Spanish 
mendicant friars from the Philippine Islands, with Dominicans 
and Augiistinians, also flocked into the country, teaching and 
zealously proselyting. The number of " Christians " at the time 
of the highest success of the missionaries in Japan was, according 
to their own figures six hundred thousand, a number that seems 
to be no exaggeration if quantity and not quality are considered. 
The Japanese less accurately set down a total of two million 
nominal adherents to the Christian sects. Among the converts 
were several princes, large numbers of lords, and gentlemen in 
high official positions, and beside generals of the army and 
admirals of the navy. Churches and chapels were numbered by 
the thousand, and in some provinces crosses and Christian shrines 
were as numerous as the kindred evidences of Buddhism had 
been before. The methods of the Jesuits appealed to the 
Japanese, as did the forms and symbols of the faith, but the 
Jesuits began to attack most violently the character of the native 
priests, and to incite their converts to insult their gods, burn the 
idols and desecrate the old shrines. 

As the different orders, Jesuits, Franciscans and Augustinians 
increased, they began to clash. Political and religious war was 
almost universal in Europe at the same time, and the quarrels of 
the various nationalities followed the buccaneers, pirates, traders 
and missionaries to the distant seas of Japan. All the foreigners, 
but especially Portuguese, then were slave traders, and thousands 
of Japanese were bought and sold and shipped to China and the 
Philippines. The sea ports of Hirado and Nagasaki were the 
resorts of the lowest class of adventurers of all European nations, 
and the result was a continuous series of uproars, broils and 
murders among the foreigners. Such a picture of foreign influ- 
ence and of Christianity as the Japanese saw it was not calcu- 



FRIGHTFUL PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS. 227 

lated to make a permanently favorable impression on the Japanese 
mind. 

Latterly Nobunaga had somewhat repented of the favor he had 
shown to the new religion, though his death occurred before his 
dissatisfaction had manifested itself in any active repression- 
Hideyoshi had never been well disposed to Christianity, but other 
matters prevented him from at once meddling with the policy of 
his predecessors. In 1588 he ventured to issue an edict com- 
manding the missionaries to assemble at Hirado, an island off the 
west coast of Kiushiu and prepared to leave Japan, and the 
missionaries obeyed, but as the edict was not enforced they again 
returned to the work of evangelization in private as vigorously as 
ever, averaging ten thousand converts a year. The Spanish 
mendicant friars pouring in from the Philippines, openly defied 
Japanese laws. This aroused Hideyoshi's attention and his decree 
of expulsion was renewed. Some of the churches were burned. 
In 1596 six Franciscan and three Jesuit priests with seventeen 
Japanese converts were taken to Nagasaki and there burned. 

When Hideyoshi died, affairs seemed to take a more favorable 
turn, but only for a few years. lyeyasu was as much opposed 
to Christianity as Hideyoshi, and his hatred of the new religion 
was intensified by his partiality for Buddhism. The new 
daimios, carrying the policy of their predecessors as taught them 
by the Jesuits, but reversing its direction, began to persecute their 
Christian subjects, and to compel them to renounce their faith. 
The native converts resisted, even to blood and the taking up of 
arms. The idea of armed rebellion among the farmers was some- 
thing so wholly new that lyeyasu suspected foreign instigation. 
He became more vigilant as his suspicions increased, and resolving 
to crush this spirit of independence and intimidate the foreign 
emissaries, met every outbreak with bloody reprisals. 

lyeyasu issued a decree of expulsion against the missionaries in 
1600, but the decree was not at once carried into effect. The 
date of the first arrival in Japan of Dutch merchants was also 
1600. They settled in the island of Hirado. In 1606 an edict 
from Yeddo forbade the exercise of the Christian religion, but an 
outward show of obedience warded off active persecution. Four 
years later the Spanish friars again aroused the wrath of the 



228 HORRORS OF THE PERSECUTION. 

government by defying its commands and exhorting the native con- 
verts to do likewise. In 1611 lyeyasu obtained documentary proof 
of what he had long suspected, the existence of a plot on the part 
of the native converts and the foreign emissaries to reduce Japan to 
the position of a subject state. Fresh edicts were issued, and in 
1614 twenty-two Franciscan, Dominican and Augustinian friars, 
one hundred and seventeen Jesuits and hundreds of native priests 
were embarked by force on board junks and sent out of the 
country. The next year the shogun pushed matters to an ex- 
treme with Hideyori, who was entertaining some Jesuit priests, 
and laid siege to the castle of Ozaka. A battle of unusual 
ferocity and bloody slaughter raged, ending in the burning of the 
citadel and the total defeat and death of Hideyori and thou- 
sands of his followers. The Jesuit fathers say that one hundred 
thousand men perished in this brief war. 

The exiled foreign friars kept secretly returning, and the shogun 
pronounced sentence of death against any foreign priest found 
in the country. lyemitsu, the next shogun, restricted all foreign 
commerce in Nagasaki and Hirado ; all Japanese were forbidden 
to leave the country on pain of death. Any European vessel 
approaching the coast was at once to be referred to Nagasaki, 
whence it was to be sent home ; the whole crew of any junk in 
which a missionary should reach Japanese shores were to be put 
to death; and the better to remove all temptation to go abroad, 
it was decreed that no ships should be constructed above a cer- 
tain size and with other than the open sterns of coasting vessels. 

Fire and sword were used to extirpate Christianity and to 
paganize the same people who in their youth were Christianized 
by the same means. Thousands of the native converts fled to 
China, Formosa and the Philippines. The Christians suffered all 
sorts of persecutions and tortures that savage ingenuity could devise. 
Yet few of the natives quailed or renounced their faith. They 
calmly let the fire of wood, cleft from the crosses before which 
they once prayed consume, them. Mothers carried their babes to 
the fire or the edge of the precipice rather than leave them behind 
to be educated in pagan faith. If any one doubt the sincerity 
and fervor of the Christian converts of to-day, or the ability of 
the Japanese to accept a higher form of faith, or their willingness 



THE SIEGE AND MASSACRE OE SHIMABARA. 231 

to suffer for what they believe, he has but to read the accounts of 
various witnesses to the fortitude of the Japanese Christians of 
the seventeenth century. 

The persecution reached its climax in the tragedy of Shima- 
bara in 1637. The Christians arose in arms by tens of thousands, 
seized an old castle, repaired it and fortified it, and raised the fliig 
of rebellion. The armies of veterans sent to besiege it expected 
an easy victory, and sneered at the idea of having any difficulty in 
subduing these farmers and peasants. It took two months by 
land and water, however, of constant attack before the fort was 
reduced, and the victory was finally gained only with the aid of 
Dutch cannon furnished under compulsion by the traders of 
Deshima. After great slaughter the intrepid garrison surrend- 
ered, and then began the massacre of thirty-seven thousand 
Christians. Many of them were hurled into the sea from the top 
of the island rock of Takaboko-shima, by the Dutch named 
Pappenberg, in the harbor of Nagasaki. 

The result of this series of events was that the favorable policy 
adopted by lyeyasu in regard to foreign trade was completely 
reversed. No foreigners were allowed to set foot on the soil of 
Japan, except Chinese and a few Dutcli merchants. The Dutch 
gained the privilege of residing in confinement on the little island 
of Deshima, a piece of made land in the harbor of Nagasaki. 
Here under degrading restrictions and constant surveillance lived 
less than a score of Hollanders, who were required every year 
to send a representative to Yeddo to do homage to the shogun. 
They were allowed one ship per annum to come from the Dutch 
East Indies for the exchange of the commodities of Japan for 
those of Holland. 

Says Doctor Griffis in his study of this era of Japanese history, 
" After nearly a hundred years of Christianity and foreign inter- 
course, the only apparent results of this contact with another 
religion and civilization were the adoption of gunpowder and 
fire-arms as weapons, the use of tobacco and the habit of smok- 
ing, the making of sponge cake, the naturalization into the lan- 
guage of a few foreign words, the introduction of new and 
strange forms of disease, among which the Japanese count the 
scourge of the venereal virus, and the permanent addition to 



232 A CENTURY OF CHRISTIANITY AND ITS EFFECTS. 

that catalogue of terrors which priest and magistrate in Asiatic 
countries ever liold as welcome, to overawe the herd. For cen- 
turies the mention of that name would bate the breath, blanch 
the cheek and smite with fear as with an earthquake shock. It 
was the synomyn of sorcery, sedition, and all that was hostile to 
the purity of the home and the peace of society. All over the 
empire, in every city, town, village and hamlet ; by the roadside, 
ferry or mountain pass ; at every entrance to the capitol, stood the 




IMAGE OF BUDDHA. 



public notice boards on which with prohibitions against the great 
crimes that disturbed the relations of society's government was 
one tablet written with a deeper brand of guilt, with a more hid- 
eous memory of blood, with a more awful terror of torture, than 
when the like superscription was affixed at the top of a cross that 
stood between two thieves on a little hill outside Jerusalem. Its 
daily and familiar sight startled ever and anon the peasants who 
clasped hands and uttered a fresh prayer ; the Bonze, or Buddhist 
priest^ to add new venom to his maledictions ; the magistrate to 



ENGLISH EFFORTS TO OPEN TRADE. 



233 



shake his head ; and to the mother a ready word to hush the 
crying of her fretful babe. That name was Christ. So thor- 
oughly was Christianity or the " corrupt sect " Supposod to be 
eradicated before the end of the seventeenth century, that its 
existence was historical, remembered only as an awful scar on the 
national memory. No vestiges were supposed to be left of it, and 
no knowledge of its tenets was held save by a very few scholars 
in Yeddo, trained experts who were kept as a sort of spiritual 
blood hounds to scent out the 
adherents of the accursed 
creed. It was left to our day 
since the recent opening of 
Japan, for tliem to discover 
that a mighty fire had been 
smoldering for over two cen- 
turies beneath the ashes of 
persecutions. As late as 1829 
seven persons, six men and an 
old woman, were crucified in 
Ozaka on suspicion of being 
Christians and communica- 
ting with foreigners. When 
the French brethren of the 
Mission Apostolique of Paris 
came to Nagasaki in 1860, 
they found in the villages 
around them over ten thou- 
sand people who held the 
faith of -their fathers of the seventeenth century. 

The Portuguese were not the only race to attempt to open a 
permanent trade with Japan. Captain John Saris, with three 
ships, left England in April, 1611, with letters from King James 
I. to the "Emperor " (shogun) of Japan. Landing at Hirado he 
was well received, and established a factory in charge of Richard 
Cocks. The captain and a number of the party visited Yeddo 
and other cities and obtained from the shogun a treaty defining 
the privileges of trade, and signed Minamoto lyeyasu. After a 
tour of three months Saris arrived at Hirado again, having 




yc///-('^4/^ 



JAPANESE SAMURAI OR WARRIOR OF THE 
OLD TIME. 



234 



PERIOD OF THE LAST SHOGUNATE. 



visited Kioto, where he saw the splendid Christian churches and 
Jesuit palaces. After discouraging attempts to open a trade with 
Siam, Corea and China, and hostilities having broken out between 
them and the Dutch, the English abandoned the project of per- 
manent trade with Japan, and all subsequent attempts to reopen 
it failed. 

Will Adams, who was an English pilot, and the first of his 

nation in Japan, arrived in 1607 
and lived in Yeddo till he died 
thirteen years later. He rose 
into favor with the shoguns and 
the people by the sheer force of 
a manly, honest character. His 
knowledge of shipbuilding, 
mathematics, and foreign affairs 
made him a very useful man. 
Although treated with kindness 
and honor, he was not allowed 
to leave Japan. He had a wife 
and daughter in England. 
Adams had a son and daughter 
born to him in Japan, and there 
are still living Japanese who 
claim descent from him. One of 
the streets of Yeddo was named 
after him, and the people of that 
street still hold an annual cele- 
bration on the fifteenth of June 
in his honor. 

The history of tlie two centuries and a half that followed the 
triumphs of lyeyasu is that of profound peace and stern isolation. 
We must pass rapidly in review of them. This great shogun 
took pains to arrange the empire after the appointment to the 
office, in such a Avay that the shoguns of the Tokugawa family » 
the dynasty which he founded, should have strictest power and 
most certain descent. His sons and daughters were married 
where they would be most powerful in influence with the great 
families of daimios. It must not be forgotten that lyeyasu and 




.JAPANESE GENERAL OP THE OLD TIME. 

{From a Native Drawing.) 



GREAT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EMPIRE. 



235 



his successor were both in theory and in reality vassals of the 
emperor, though they assumed protection of the imperial person. 
Neither the shogun nor the daimios were acknowledged at 
Kioto as nobles of the empire. The lowest kuge, or noble, was 
above the shogun in rank. The shogun could obtain his 
appointment only from the mikado. He was simply the most 
powerful among the daimios, who had won that pre-eminence by 




JAPANESE BRIDGE. 



the sword, and who by wealth and power and a skillfully wrought 
plan of division of land among the other daimios was able to 
rule. 

In 1600 and the years following, lyeyasu employed an army of 
three hundred thousand laborers in Yeddo improving and building 
the city. Before the end of the century, Yeddo had a population of 
•more than half a million, but it never did have, as the Hollanders 
guessed and the old text books told us, two million five hundred 
12 



236 GREAT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EMPIRE. 

thousand souls. Outside of Yeddo the strength of the great 
unifier was spent on public roads and highways, post stations, 
bridges, castles and mines. He spent the last years of his life 
engaged in erasing the scars of war by his policy of conciliation, 
securing the triumphs of peace, perfecting his plans for fixing in 
stability a system of government, and in collecting books and 
manuscripts. He bequeathed his code of laws to his chief 
retainers, and advised his sons to govern in the spirit of kindness. 
He died on the eighth of March, 1616. 

The grandson of lyeyasu, lyemitsu, was another great shogun, 
and it was he who established the rule that all the daimios should 
visit and reside in Yeddo during half the year. Gradually these 
rules became more and more restrictive, until the guests became 
mere vassals. Their wives and children were kept as hostages in 
Yeddo. During his rule the Christian insurrection and massacre 
at Shimabara took place. Yeddo was vastly improved, with 
aqueducts, fire watch towers, the establishment of mints, weights 
and measures. A general survey of the empire was executed ; 
maps of various provinces and plans of the daimios' castles were 
made ; the councils called Hiojo-sho (discussion and decision), and 
Wakadoshiyori (assembly of elders), were established and Corean 
envoys received. The height of pride and ambition which this 
shogun had already reached, is seen in the fact that in a letter of 
reply to Corea he is referred to as Tai Kun, ('' Tycoon "), a title 
never conferred by the mikado on any one, nor had lyemitsu any 
legal right to it. It was assumed in a sense honorary or meaning- 
less to any Japanese, unless highly jealous of the mikado's sover- 
eignty, and was intended to overawe the Cor cans. The approxi- 
mate interpretation of it is " great ruler." 

Under the strong rule of the Tokugawa shoguns, therefore, the 
long distracted Japanese empire at length enjoyed two-and-a-half 
centuries of peace and prosperity. The innate love of art, litera- 
ture, and education, which almost constant warfare had prevented 
from duly developing among the people, had now an opportunity 
of producing fruit. And as it had shoAvn itself in former inter- 
vals of rest, so was it now. Under the patronage of lyeyasu was 
composed the Dai Nihon Shi, the first detailed history of Japan. 
Tsunayoshi, his successor, 1681 to 1709, founded at Seido a Con- 



UNDER THE TOKUGAWA SHOGUNS. 237 

fuciaii university, and was such an enthusiast for literature that 
he used to assemble the princes and high officials about him and 
expound to them passages from the Chinese classics. Yoshimune, 
another shogun, was much interested in astronomy and other 
branches of science, beside doing much to improve agriculture. 
Legal matters also engaged his attention ; he altered lyeyasu's 
policy so far as to publish a revised criminal code, and improved 
the administration of the law, forbidding the use of torture except 
in cases where there was flagrant proof of guilt. He built an astro- 
nomical observatory at Kanda and established at his court a pro- 
fessorship of Chinese literature. 

lyenori, shogun from 1787 to 1838, threw the classes of the 
Confucian university open to the public. Every body from the 
nobility down to the masses of the people began to appreciate 
literary studies. Maritime commerce within the limits of the 
four seas was encouraged by the shogun's government, regular 
service of junks being established between the principal ports. 
Nor must it be forgotten that to the Tokugawas is due the 
foundation of the great modern city of Yeddo with its vast fortifi- 
cations and its triumphs of art in the shrines of Shiba and Uyeno. 
It was at this period too that the matchless shrines of Nikko were 
reared in memory of the greatness of lyeyasu and lyemitsu. The 
successors of the former, the shoguns of the Tokugawa dynasty, 
fourteen in all, were with one exception buried alternately in the 
cemeteries of Zozoji and Toyeizan, in the city districts of Shiba 
and Uyeno. 

But throughout all this period of peace and progress the light 
of the outer world was excluded. The people made the best use 
of the light they had, but after all it was but dim. The learning 
by rote of thousands of Chinese characters, and the acquisition of 
skill in the composition of Chinese and Japanese verse, were 
little worthy to be the highest literary attainments possible to the 
most aspiring of the youth of Japan. In the domain of art there 
was more that was inviting, but scientific knowledge was tantaliz- 
ingly meagre and that little was overlaid with Chinese absurdities. 
When we consider that the isolation of the country was due to 
no spirit of exclusiveness in the national character, that indeed it 
was the result of a policy that actually went against the grain of 



238 AMERICA KNOCKS AT THE DOOR. 

the people, how many restless spirits must there have been during 
these long years, who kept longing for more light. Fortunately 
there was one little chink at Deshima, in the harbor at Nagasaki, 
and of this some of the more earnest were able to take advantage. 
Many instances are recorded and there must be many more of 
which we can know nothing, of Japanese students displaying the 
truest heroism in surmounting the difficulties that lay in the way 
of their acquiring foreign knowledge. Let us now see how there 
came at length an unsettled dawn, and after the clouds of this 
had cleared, a dazzling inpouring of the light. 

It was the American Union which opened the door of Japan to 
western civilization. It had been desired by all of the European 
nations, as well as by the United States, to obtain access to 
Japanese ports. Supplies were frequently needed, particularly 
water and coal, but no distress was ever considered a sufficient 
excuse for the Japanese to permit the landing of a foreign vessel's 
crew. Shipwrecked sailors frequently passed through seasons of 
great trial and danger, before they were restored to their own 
people. Even Japanese sailors who were shipwrecked on other 
siiores, or carried out to sea, were refused re-admission to their 
own country when rescued by foreigners. 

Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry of the American navy, 
urged upon President Millard Fillmore the necessity and possi- 
bility of making some sort of a treaty with the exclusive empire. 
It was decided that the most effective way to advance this desire 
was to sail into the bay of Yeddo with a squadron sufficient to 
comRiand respect. A fleet was assigned to the undertaking, 
under the command of Perry, and the American vessels sailed 
away to the Orient to rendezvous at the chief city of the Liu Kiu 
islands, Napha. From Napha the fleet sailed for Japan, the 
Susquehanna, the flagship, the advance of the line of the ships of 
seventeen nations. 

It was on the seventh day of July, 1853, under a sky and over 
a sea of perfect calm, that the four American warships appeared 
off Uraga in the Bay of Yeddo. Without delay the officials of 
Uraga emphatically notified the "barbarian" envoy that he must 
go to Nagasaki, where all business with foreigners had to be 
done. The barbarian refused to go. He informed the messengers 




BAPTISM OF BUDDHA. 



JAPAN'S DOOR HALF AJAR. 241 

that he was the bearer of a letter from the President of the United 
States to the Emperor of Japan ; that he had sailed as near as 
possible to the destination of the letter and would now deliver it 
and continue it on its way by land, but he would not retrace his 
path until the letter was delivered. The shogun lyeyoshi on re- 
ceiving information of such decision, was exceedingly troubled 
and called his officials to a council. Alarm was wide spread, and 
it was ordered that strict watch should be kept along the shore to 
prevent the barbarian vessels from committing acts of violence. 
During the eight days while Commodore Perry's fleet was wait- 
ing in the Bay of Yeddo, the boats of his ships were busily engaged 
in taking soundings and surveying the shores and the anchorage. 
No sailors were permitted to land, and no natives were molested. 
Every effort was made to indicate to the Japanese the desire for 
a peaceful friendship. 

A learned Chinese scholar was sent by the shogun to Uraga, 
who acted as an official and eminent interpreter in an interview 
with the American envoy. Continued councils were called by 
the shogun, not only of his chief officers but of the daimios, the 
nobles, and the retired nobles of Yeddo. The citizens of Yeddo 
and the surrounding villages were in great tumult, fearing that 
there would be a war, for which the country was totally unpre- 
pared. Meanwhile the envoy was impatiently demanding an 
answer. At last, after eight days, the patience and the impa- 
tience, combined with the demonstrations made by the vessels of 
the fleet, which were highly impressive to the Japanese who had 
never seen a steamboat, won success for Commodore Perry's 
message. A high Japanese commissioner came to Uraga, pre- 
pared a magnificent pavilion for the ceremonies, and announced 
himself ready to receive the letter to the emperor. With great 
pomp and ceremony the Americans landed and in this pavilion 
with proper formalities, delivered the letter and presents from the 
president. Then having, for the first time in history, gained 
several important points of etiquette in a country where etiquette 
was more than law or morals, the splendid diplomat and warrior 
Perry saikd away with his fleet July 17, 1853. 

It was in response to a temporizing policy on the part of Japan, 
and to the good judgment and careful decision of Commodore 



242 JAPAN TAKES TIME TO THINK. 

Peny, that the fleet sailed away without demanding an immediate 
reply to his letter. The American envoy was informed that in a 
matter of so much importance a decision could not be at once 
reached, and that if he now left, he would on his return get a 
definite answer. No wonder there was commotion. The nine- 
teenth century had come suddenly into contact with the four- 
teenth. The spirit of commerce and the spirit of feudalism, two 
great but conflicting forces, met in their full development, and 
the result was necessarily a convulsion. We are hardly surprised 
to hear that the shogun died before Commodore Perry's return, 
or that during the next few years the land was harassed by earth- 
quakes and pestilences. 

Perry's second appearance was in February, 1854, this time 
with a much larger fleet. A hot debate took place in the 
shogun's council as to the answer that should be given. The old 
daimio of Mito, the head of one of the three families, which, 
forming the Tokugawa clan, furnished the occupants of the 
shogunate, wanted to fight and settle the question once for all. 
" At first," he said, " they will give us philosophical instruments, 
machinery and other curiosities ; will take ignorant people in ; 
and trade being their chief object they will manage to impoverish 
the country, after which they will treat us just as they like, per- 
haps behave with the greatest rudeness and insult us, and end by 
swallowing up Japan. If we do not drive them away now we 
shall never have another opportunity." 

Others gave contrary advice, saying, " If we try to drive them 
away they will immediately commence hostilities, and then we 
shall be obliged to fight. If we once get into a dispute we shall 
have an enemy to fight who will not be easily disposed of. He 
does not care how long he will have to spend over it, but he will 
come with myriads of men-of-war and surround our shores com- 
pletely ; however large a number of ships we might destroy, he is 
so accustomed to that sort of thing that he would not care in the 
least. In time the country would be put to an immense expense 
and the people plunged into misery. Rather than allow this, as 
we are not the equals of foreigners in the mechanical arts, let us 
have intercourse with foreign countries, learn their drill and 
tactics, and when we have made the nation as united as one 



SIGNING OF THE FIRST TREATY. 243 

family, we shall be able to go abroad and give lands in foreign 
countries to those who have distinguished themselves in battle." 

The latter view carried and a treaty with the United States 
was signed on the thirty-first of March, 1854. Now be it ob- 
served that the shogun did this without the sanction of the 
mikado, whom indeed he had never yet consulted on the matter, 
and that he subscribed himself Tai Kun, (*' Tycoon,") or great 
ruler, a title to which he had no right and which if it meant any- 
thing at all involved an assumption of the authority of supreme 
ruler in the empire. This was the view naturally taken by 
Perry and by the ambassadors from European countries who a 
few years later obtained treaties with Japan. They were under 
the impression that they were dealing with the emperor; and 
hearing of the existence of another potentate living in an inland 
city, surrounded with a halo of national veneration, they con- 
ceived the plausible but erroneous theory that the tycoon was 
the temporal sovereign, and this mysterious mikado the spiritual 
sovereign of the country. They little dreamed that the so-called 
tycoon was no sovereign at all, and that consequently the treaties 
which he signed had no legal validity. 

The shogun could ill afford thus to lay himself open to the 
charge of treason. From the first there had been a certain class 
of daimios who had never heartily submitted to the Tokugawa 
administration. The principal clans which thus submitted to the 
regime under protest against what they considered a usurpation, 
an encroachment on the authority of the mikado, whom alone 
they recognized as the divinely appointed ruler of Japan, were 
those of Satsuma, Choshiu, and Tosa. As the years of peace cast 
their spell over the nation, making the people forgetful of war 
and transforming the descendants of lyeyasu into luxurious 
idlers, much more like impotent mikados than successors of the 
energetic soldier and law-giver, their hopes more and more arose 
that an opportunity would be given them to overthrow the 
shogunate and bring about the unification of the empire at the 
hands of the mikado. Their time had now come. The shogun 
was enervated and he had so far forgotten himself as to open the 
country to foreign trade, without the sanction of the " Son of 
Heaven." It was this illegal act of the shogun that precipitated 



244 THE TREATY WAS TREASON. 

the confusion, violence and disaster of the next few years, reach- 
ing ultimately in 1868 to the complete overthrow of his own 
power and the restoration of the mikado to his rightful position 
as actual as well as nominal ruler of the empire. 

Fearing the consequences of the illegal act into which he had 
been driven, the shogun lost no time in sending messengers to 
Kioto to inform the mikado of what had happened and seek his 
sanction to the policy adopted. It was plead in excuse for the 
course of conduct, that affairs had reached such a condition that 
the shogun was driven to sign the treaty. The emperor in great 
agitation summoned a council. The decision was unanimous 
against the shogun's action, and the messengers were informed 
that no sanction could be given to the treaty. The next import- 
ant step was not taken until July, 1858, when Lord Elgin arrived 
with propositions on the part of Great Britain for a treaty of 
amity and commerce. He was unaccompanied by any armed 
force, and brought a steam yacht as a present from Queen Vic- 
toria to the tycoon of Japan. 

A few months later treaties were entered into with all the 
leading powers of Europe, but if there was a political lull be- 
tween 1854 and 1858, the poor Japanese had distractions of a 
very different kind. From a violent earthquake and consequent 
conflagration, one hundred and four thousand of the inhabitants 
of Yeddo lost their lives. A terrific storm swept away one hun- 
dred thousand more, and in a visitation of cholera thirty thou- 
sand persons perished in Yeddo alone. Moreover, just when the 
treaties were being signed, the shogun lyesada died, ** as if," says 
Sir R. Alcock, " a further victim was required for immolation on 
the altar of the outraged gods of Japan." 

The political tempest that had been gathering now swept over 
the nation. For the next ten years there was so much disorder, 
intrigue, and bloodshed, that Japan became among the western 
nations a byword for treachery and assassination. Defenseless 
foreigners were cut down in the streets of Yeddo and Yokohama 
and even in the legations. Twice was the British legation 
attacked, on one of the occasions being taken by storm and held 
for a time by a band of free-lances. No foreigner's life was safe. 
Even when out on the most trivial errand, every foreign resident 



YEARS OF VIOLENCE AND DISASTER. 245 

was accompanied by an armed escort furnished by the shogun's 
government. It is needless to give an account of all the different 
assassinations, successful or attempted, which darkened the 
period. The secretary to the American legation was cut down 
near Shiba, Yeddo, when returning from the Prussian legation 
with an armed escort; a Japanese interpreter attached to the 
British legation was fatally stabbed in broad daylight while 
standing at the legation flagstaff; one of the guard at the same 
legation murdered two Englishmen in the garden and then com- 
mitted suicide ; an Englishman was cut down on the highway 
between Yokohama and Yeddo by certain retainers of the daimio 
of Satsuraa, whose procession he had unwittingly crossed on 
horseback ; and these were not all. 

It is not a satisfactory answer to say that hatred of foreigners 
was the leading motive that inspired all these acts of violence. 
This was no doubt more or less involved, but the true explana- 
tion is to be found in the hostility of the mikado's partisans to 
the shogun's government. All possible means were taken to 
thwart the shogun and bring him into complications with the 
ambassadors at his court. Every attack on a foreigner brought 
fresh trouble upon the Yeddo government and hastened its col- 
lapse. Long before foreigners arrived, the seeds of revolution 
had sprouted and their growth was showing above the soil. It is 
to the state of political parties and of feudalism at this epoch in 
Japanese history, and not to mere ill will against foreigners, that 
this policy of intrigue and assassination must be ascribed. 

It would take too long to discuss all the complications of this 
period and to inquire, for instance, how far when the Japanese 
government failed to arrest and execute the murderer of Mr. 
Richardson, the British were justified in demanding an indemnity 
of $500,000 from the shogun and 1125,000 from the daimio of 
Satsuma, or in enforcing their demands with a threatened bom- 
bardment of Yeddo and an actual bombardment of Kagoshima. 
It is out of our scope here to inquire into the shelling of the 
batteries of the daimio of Choshiu, at Shimonoseki, in turn by 
the Americans, British, French and Dutch, the men of Choshiu 
having fired upon some Dutch, American, and French vessels that 
had entered the straits against the prohibition of the Japanese. 



246 HARD TIMES FOR THE SHOGUN". 

An indemnity of $3,000,000 was also exacted and distributed 
among these nations. 

Such stern measures doubtless appeared to the foreign ambas- 
sadors necessary to prevent the expulsion or even the utter ex- 
termination of foreigners. Whether their policy was mistaken 
or not, certain it is that they can have had no adequate concep- 
tion of the difficulties with which the shogun had to contend. 
The position of that ruler was one of such distraction as might 
well evoke for him the pity of every disinterested onlooker. Do 
as he would, he could not escape trouble ; on the one side were 
the mikado's partisans ever growing in power and in determina- 
tion to crush him, and on the other were the equally irresistible 
foreigners with their impatient demands and their alarming 
threats. He was as helpless as a man between a wall of rock 
and an advancing tide. 

The internal difficulties of the country were increased by dis- 
sensions which broke out in the imperial court. The clans of 
Satsuma and Choshiu had been summoned to Kioto to preserve 
order. For some reason the former were relieved of this duty, 
or rather privilege, and it therefore devolved exclusively upon the 
Choshiu men. Taking advantage of their position, the Choshiu 
men persuaded the mikado to undertake a progress to the province 
of Yamato, there to proclaim his intention of taking the field 
against foreigners ; but this proposal roused the jealousy of the 
other clans at the imperial court, as they feared that the men of 
Choshiu were planning to obtain possession of the mikado's per- 
son and thus acquire pre-eminence. The intended expedition 
was abandoned, and the men of Choshiu, accompanied by Sanjo, 
afterward prime minister of the reformed government, and six 
other nobles who had supported them, were banished from Kioto. 

The ill feeling thus occasioned between Choshiu and Satsuma, 
was fomented by an unfortunate incident which occurred at 
Shimonoseki early in 1864. The former clan recklessly fired 
upon a vessel, which being of European build they mistook for a 
foreign one, but which really belonged to Satsuma. Thus 
Choshiu was in disfavor both with the shogun and with the 
mikado, and in this year we have the strange spectacle of these 
two rulers leaguing their forces together for its punishment. 



ABOLITION OF THE SHOGUNATES. 247 

August 20, 1864, tlie Clioshiu men advanced upon Kioto, but 
were repulsed with much slaughter, only however after the 
greater part of the city had been destroyed by fire. The rebell- 
ion was not at once quelled ; indeed the Choshiu samurai were 
proving themselves more than a match for the troops which the 
shogun had sent against them, when at length the imperial court 
ordered the fighting to be abandoned. Simultaneously with the 
Choshiu rebellion the shogun had to meet an insurrection by the 
daimio of Mito, in the east. His troubles no doubt hastened his 
death, which took place at Osaka in September, 1866, shortly be- 
fore the war against Choshiu terminated. Then there succeeded 
Keiki, the last of the shoguns. 

It should be noted, however, that before this the mikado's 
sanction had been obtained to the foreign treaties. In Novem- 
ber, 1865, British, French, and Dutch squadrons came to anchor 
off Hiogo, of which the foreign settlement of Kobe is now a 
suburb, and sent letters to Kioto demanding the imperial con- 
sent. The nearness of such an armed force was too great an 
argument to be withstood, and the demand was granted. Little 
more than a year after his accession to the shogunate Keiki re- 
signed. In doing so he proved himself capable of duly apprecia- 
ting the national situation. Now that foreigners had been ad- 
mitted, it was more necessary than ever that the government 
should be strong, and this, it was seen, was impossible without 
the abolition of the old dual system. He had secured the 
mikado's consent to the treaties, on the condition that they 
should be revised, and that Hiogo should never be opened as a 
port of foreign commerce. 

But the end had not yet come. On the same day when the 
shogunate was abolished, January 3, 1868, the forces friendly to 
the Tokagawas were dismissed from Kioto, and the guardianship 
of the imperial palace was committed to the clans of Satsuma, 
Tosa, and Geishiu. This measure gave Keiki great offense, and 
availing himself of a former order of the court which directed 
him to continue the conduct of affairs, he marched with his re- 
tainers and friends to Ozaka and sent a request to the mikado 
that all Satsuma men who had any share in the government 
should be dismissed. To this the court would not consent, and ' 



248 IMPERIALISM IN THE ASCENDANT. 

Keiki marched against Kioto with a force of thirty thousand men, 
his declared object being to remove from the mikado his bad 
counselors. A desperate engagement took place at Fushimi, in 
which the victory was with the loyalists. But this was only the 
beginning of a short but sharp civil war, of which the principal 
fighting was in the regions between Yeddo and Nikko. 

The restoration was at last complete. Proclamation was made 
" to sovereigns of all foreign nations and their subjects, that per- 
mission had been granted to the shogun Yoshinobu, or Keiki, to 
return the governing power in accordance with his own request ; " 
and the manifesto continued: '* henceforward we shall exercise 
supreme authority both in the internal and external affairs of the 
country. Consequently the title of emperor should be substituted 
for that of tycoon which had been hitherto employed in the 
treaties." Appended were the seal of Dai Nippon, and the signa- 
ture of Mutsuhito, this being the first occasion in Japanese history 
on which the name of an emperor had appeared during his life- 
time. 

With the triumph of the imperial party one might have ex- 
pected a return to the old policy of isolation. There can be no 
doubt that when the Satsuma, Choshiu, and other southern clans 
commenced their agitation for the abolition of the shogunate, 
their ideas with regard to foreign intercourse were decidedly 
retrogressive. But after all, the leading motive which inspired 
them was dissatisfaction with the semi-imperial position occupied 
by the upstart Tokugawas ; to this their opposition to foreigners 
was quite secondary. It so happened that the Tokugawa shoguns 
got involved with foreigners, and it was so much the worse for 
the foreigners. To go deeper, what was at the bottom of this 
desire was the overthrow of the shogunate. Doubtless their 
patriotism, what they had at heart, was the highest w^elfare of 
their country, and this they believed impossible without its unifi- 
cation. Their primary motive then, being patriotism, we need 
not be surprised that they were willing to entertain the notion 
that perhaps after all the prosperity of their country might best 
*be insured by the adoption of a policy of free foreign intercourse. 
This idea more and more commended itself, until it became a 
conviction ; and when they got into power they astonished the 



RADICAL CHANGES BY THE MmADO. 251 

world by the thoroughness with which they broke loose from the 
old traditions and entered upon a policy of enlightened reforma- 
tion. To the political and social revolution which accompanied 
the restoration of the mikado in 1868, there has been no parallel 
in the history of mankind. 

One of the first acts of the mikado after the restoration, was 
to assemble the kuges and daimios and make oath before them 
" that a deliberative assembly should be formed, and all measures 
be decided upon by public opinion ; that impartiality and justice 
should form the basis of his action ; and that intellect and learn- 
ing should be sought for throughout the world in order to estab- 
lish the foundations of the empire." In the mid-summer of 1868, 
the mikado, recognizing Yeddo as really the center of the nation's 
life, made it the captial of the empire and transferred his court 
thither; but the name Yeddo, being distasteful on account of its 
associations with the shogunate, was abolished, and the city re- 
named Tokio, or " Eastern Capital." At the same time the an- 
cient capital Kioto, received the new name of Saikio or " West- 
ern Capital." For the creation of a central administration, how- 
ever, more was necessary than the abolition of the shogunate and 
the establishment of the mikado's authority. The great fabric 
of feudalism still remained intact. Within his own territory 
each daimio was practically an independent sovereign, taxing his 
subjects as he saw fit, often issuing his own currency, and some- 
times even granting passports so as to control intercourse with 
neighboring provinces. Here was a formidable barrier to the 
consolidation of the empire. But the reformers had the courage 
and the tact necessary to remove it. 

The first step towards the above revolution was taken in 1869, 
when the daimios of Satsuma, Choshiu, Hizen, and Tosa ad- 
dressed a memorial to the mikado requesting his authorization 
for the resignation of their fiefs into his hands. Other nobles 
followed their example, and the consequence was the acceptance 
by the mikado of control over the land and revenues of the dif- 
ferent provinces, the names of the clans however being still pre- 
served, and the daimios allowed to remain over them as governors, 
each with one-tenth of the former assessment of his territory as 
rental. By this arrangement the evil of too suddenly termina^ 



252 ANNIHILATING FEUDALISM. 

ting the relation between the clans and their lords was sought to 
be avoided, but it was only temporary; in 1871 the clan system 
was totally abolished, and the country redivided for administra- 
tive purposes, with officers chosen irrespectively of hereditary 
rank or clan connection. 

But the payment of hereditarj- pensions and allowances of the 
ex-daimios and ex-samurai proved such a drain upon the national 
resources that in 1876 the reformed government found it neces- 
sary to compulsorily convert them into capital sums. The rate 
of commutation varied from five years' purchase in the case of 
the largest pensions, to fourteen years' in that of the smallest. 
The number of the pensioners with whom the}^ had thus to deal 
was three hundred and eighteen thousand four hundred and 
twent3^-eight. The act of the daimios in thus suppressing them- 
selves looks at first sight like a grand act of self-sacrifice, as we 
are not accustomed to see landed proprietors manifesting such 
disinterestedness for the patriotic object of advancing their coun- 
try's good. But the vast majority of daimios had come to be 
mere idlers, as the greater mikado had been. Their territories 
were governed by the more able and energetic of their retainers, 
and it was a number of these men that had most influence in 
bringing about the restoration of the mikado's authority. Intense 
patriots, they saw that the advancement of their country could 
not be realized without its unification, and at the same time the}^ 
cannot but have preferred a larger scope for their talents, which 
service immediately under the mikado would give them. From 
being ministers of their provincial governments, they aspired to 
be ministers of the imperial government. They were successful ; 
and their lords, who had all along been accustomed to yield to 
their advice quite cheerfully, acquiesced when asked for the good 
of the empire to give up their fiefs to the mikado. One result 
of this is that while most of the ex-daimios have retired into 
private life, the country is now governed almost exclusively by 
ex-samurai. Such sweeping changes were not to be accomplished 
without rousing opposition and even rebellion. The government 
incurred much risk in interfering with the ancient privileges of 
the samurai. It is not surprising that several rebellions had to 
be put down during the years immediately succeeding 1868. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN JAPAN. 263 

Dr. William Elliot Griffis, in his exhaustive and interesting 
work, '' The Mikado's Empire," discusses at length the change of 
Japan from feudalism to its present condition, the abolition of 
the shogunate, and the rebellions that followed that event. He 
declares that popular impression to be wrong which suggests 
that the immediate cause of the fall of the shogun's government, 
the restoration of the mikado to supreme power, and the aboli- 
tion of the dual and feudal systems, was the presence of foreign- 
ers on the soil of Japan. The foreigners and their ideas were 
the occasion, not the cause, of the destruction of the dual system 
of government. Their presence served merely to hasten what 
was already inevitable. 

The history of Japan from the abolition of feudalism in 1871 
up to the present time, is a record of advance in all the arts of 
western civilization. The mikado, Mutsuhito, has shown himself 
to be much more than a petty divinity, a real man. He has 
taken a firm stand in advocacy of the introduction of western 
customs, wherever they were improvements. The imperial navy, 
dockyards, and machine shops have been a pride to him. He has 
withdrawn himself from mediaeval seclusion and assumed divinity, 
and has made himself accessible and visible to his subjects. He 
has placed the empress in a position like to that occupied by the 
consorts of European monarchs, and with her he has adopted 
European attire. In the latter part of June, 1872, the mikado 
left Tokio in the flagship of Admiral Akamatsu, and made a tour 
throughout the south and west of his empire. For the first time 
in twelve centuries the emperor of Japan moved freely and un- 
veiled among his subjects. 

Again in the same year Japan challenged the admiration of 
Christendom. The coolie trade, carried on by Portuguese at 
Macao, in China, between the local kidnappers and Peru and 
Cuba, had long existed in defiance of the Chinese government. 
Thousands of ignorant Chinese were yearly decoyed from Macao 
and shipped in sweltering shipholds, under the name of " passen- 
gers." In Cuba and Peru their contracts were often broken, 
they were cruelly treated, and only a small portion of them re- 
turned alive to tell their wrongs. The Japanese government 
had with a fierce jealousy watched the beginning of such a 



254 



DESTROYING THE COOLIE TRADE. 



traffic on their own shores. In the last days of the shogunate, 
coolie traders came to Japan to ship irresponsible hordes of 
Japanese coolies and women to the United States. To their 
everlasting shame, be it said some were Americans. Among the 
first things done by the mikado's government after the restora 

tion, was the sending of an 
official who effected the joyful 
delivery of these people and 
their return to their homes. 

So the Japanese set to work 
to destroy this nefarious traffic. 
The Peruvian ship Maria Luz, 
loaded with Chinese, entered 
the port of Yokohama. Two 
fuo^itive coolies in succession 
swam to the English war ship 
Iron Duke. Hearing the pite- 
ous story of their wrongs, Mr. 
Watson, the British charge 
d'affaires, called the attentio \ 
of the Japanese authorities t > 
these illegal acts in their waters. 
A protracted enquiry was in- 
stituted and the coolies landed. 
The Japanese refused to force 
them on board against their 
will, and later shipped them to 
China, a favor which was grate- 
fully acknowledged by the 
Chinese government. This act 
of a pagan nation achieved a 
grand moral victory for the 
world and humanity. Within 
four years the coolie traffic, 
which was but another name for the slave trade, was abolished from 
the face of the earth, and the coolie prisons of Macao were in ruins. 
Yet the act of freeing the Chinese coolies in 1872 was done in 
the face of clamor and opposition, and a rain of protests from 




CHINESE COOLIE. 



l^|i;6:i!i 




IN CONTACT WITH WESTERN NATIONS. 257 

the foreign consuls, ministers, and a part of the press. Abuse 
and threats and diplomatic pressure were in vain. The Japanese 
never wavered, bat marched straight to the duty before them, the 
liberation of the slaves. The British charg^ and the American 
consul, Colonel Charles O. Shepherd, alone gave hearty support 
and unwavering sympathy to the right side. 

Duriiig the same year, 1872, two legations and three consulates 
were established abroad, and from that time forward the number 
has been increasing until the representatives of Japan's govern- 
ment are found all over the world. Scores of daily newspapers 
and hundreds of weeklies have been furnishing the country with 
information and awakening thought. The editors are often men 
of culture or students returned from abroad. 

The Corean war project had, in 1872, become popular in the 
cabinet and was the absorbing theme of the army and navy. 
During the Tokugawa period Corea had regularly sent embassies 
of homage and congratulation to Japan ; but not relishing the 
change of affairs in 1868, disgusted at the foreignizing tendencies 
of the mikado's government, incensed at Japan's departure from 
Turanian ideals, and emboldened by the failure of the French 
and American expeditions, Corea sent insulting letters taunting 
Japan with slavish truckling to the foreign barbarians, declared 
herself an enemy, and challenged Japan to fight. About this 
time a Liu Kiu junk was wrecked on eastern Formosa. The 
crew was killed by the savages, and, it is said, eaten. The Liu 
Kiuans appealed to their tributary lords at Satsuma, who referred 
the matter to Tokio. English, Dutch, American, German, and 
Chinese ships have from time to time been wrecked on this can- 
nibal coast, the terror of the commerce of Christendom. Their 
war ships vainly attempted to chastise the savages. Soyejima, 
with others, conceived the idea of occupying the coast, to rule 
the wild tribes, and of erecting light houses in the interests of 
commerce. China laid no claim to eastern Formosa, all trace of 
which was omitted from the maps of the " Middle Kingdom." 
In the spring of 1873, Soyejima went to Peking and there, among 
other things granted him, was an aiudience with the Chinese em- 
peror. He thus reaped the results of the diplomatic labors of 
half a century. The Japanese ambassador stood upright before 
Ij 



258 



AN EXPEDITION TO FORMOSA. 



the " Dragon Face " and the " Dragon Throne," robed in the 
tight black dress-coat, trousers, and linen of western civilization, 
bearing the congratulations of the young mikado of the " Sun- 
rise Kingdom " to the youthful emjoeror of the '' Middle King- 
dom." In the Tsung-li Yamen, Chinese responsibility over 
eastern Formosa was disavowed, and the right of Japan to chas- 
tise the savages granted. A 
Japanese junk was wrecked 
on Formosa, and its crew 
stripped and plundered while 
Soyejima was absent in China. 
This event piled fresh fuel on 
the flames of the Avar feeling 
now popular even among the 
unarmed classes. 

Japan at this time had 
to struggle with opposition 
within and without, to every 
move in the direction of ad- 
vancement in civilization. 
Says Griffis, "At home were 
the stolidly conservative 
peasantry backed by ignor- 
ance, superstition, priest- 
craft, and political hostility. 
On their own soil they were 
fronted by aggressive foreign- 
ers who studied all Japanese 
questions through the spec- 
tacles of dollars and cents 
and trade, and whose diplo- 
matists too often made the 
principles of Shylock their system. Outside the Asiatic nations 
belield with contempt, jealousy and alarm the departure of one of 
their number from Turanian ideas, principles, and civilization. 
China witli ill-concealed anger, Corea with open defiance taunted 
Japan with servile submission to the * foreign devils.' 

*' For the first time the nation was represented to the world by 




FORMOSAN TYPE. 



WHAT THE EMBASSY ACCOMPLISHED. 259 

an embassy at once august and plenipotentiary. It was not a 
squad of petty officials or local nobles going forth to kiss a toe, 
to play the part of figure-heads, or stool-pigeons, to beg the 
aliens to get out of Japan, to keep the scales on foreign eyes, to 
buy gun-boats, or to hire employees, A noble of highest rank, 
and blood of immemorial antiquity, with four cabinet ministers, 
set out to visit the courts of the fifteen nations having treaties 
with Dai Nippon. They were accompanied by commissioners 
representing every government department, sent to study and re- 
port upon the methods and resources of foreign civilizations. 
They arrived in Washington February 29, 1872, and for the first 
time in history a letter signed by the mikado was seen outside of 
Asia. It was presented by the ambassadors, robed in their an- 
cient Yamato costume, to the President of the United States on 
the 4th of March, Mr. Arinori Mori acting as interpreter. The 
first president of the free republic, and the men who had elevated 
the eta to citizenship stood face to face in fraternal accord. The 
one hundred and twenty-third sovereign of an empire in its 
twenty-sixth centennial saluted the citizen ruler of a nation 
whose century aloe had not yet bloomed. On the 6th of March 
they were welcomed on the floor of Congress. This day marked 
the formal entrance of Japan upon the theater of universal his- 
tory." 

In its subordinate objects the embassy was a signal success. 
Much was learned of Christendom. The results at home were 
the splendid series of reforms which mark the 3'ear 1872 as 
epochal. But in its prime object the embassy was an entire 
failure. One constant and supreme object was ever present, be- 
yond amusement or thirst for knowledge. It was to ask that in 
the revision of the treaties the extra-territoriality clause be 
stricken out, that foreigners be made subject to the laws of 
Japan. The failure of the mission was predicted by all who 
knew the facts. From Washington to St. Petersburg point-blank 
refusal was made. No Christian governments would for a mo- 
ment trust their people to pagan edicts and prisons. While 
Japan slandered Christianity by proclamations, imprisoned men 
for their beliefs, knew nothing of trial by jury, of the habeas 
corpus writ, or of modern jurisprudence ; in short while Japan 



260 RKBELLION STAMPED OUT. 

maintained the institutions of barbarism, they refused to recog- 
nize her as a peer among nations. 

At home the watchword was progress. Public persecution for 
conscience* sake vanished. All the Christians torn from their 
homes and exiled and imprisoned in 1868 were set free and re- 
stored to their native villages. Education advanced rapidly, -pub- 
lic decency was improved, and the standards of Christendom 
attempted. 

While in Europe Iwakura and his companions in the embassy 
kept cognizant of home affairs. With eyes opened by all that 
they had seen abroad, mighty results, but of slow growth, they 
saw their country going too fast. Behind the war project lay an 
abyss of ruin. On their return the war scheme brought up in a 
cabinet meeting was rejected. The disappointment of the army 
was keen and that of expectant foreign contractors pitiable. The 
advocates of war among the cabinet ministers resigned and re- 
tired to private life. Assassins attacked Iwakura, but his injuries 
did not result fatally. The spirit of feudalism was against him. 

On the 17th of January, the ministers who had resigned sent 
in a memorial praying for the establishment of a representative 
assembly in v/hich the popular wish might be discussed. Their 
request was declined. It was officially declared that Japan was 
not ready for such institutions. Hizen, the home of one of the 
great clans of the coalition of 1868, was the chief seat of dis- 
affection. With perhaps no evil intent, Eto, who had been the 
head of the department of justice, had returned to his home 
there and was followed by many of his clansmen. Scores of 
officials and men assembled with traitorous intent, and raised the 
cry of " On to Corea." The rebellion was annihilated in ten 
days. A dozen ringleaders were sent to kneel before the blood 
pit. The national government was vindicated and sectionalism 
crushed. 

The Formosan affair was also brought to a conclusion. Thir- 
teen hundred Japanese soldiers occupied the island for six 
months, conquering the savages wherever they met, building 
roads and fortifications. At last the Chinese government in 
shame began to urge their claims on Formosa and to declare the 
Japanese intruders. For a time war seemed inevitable. The 



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THE SATSUMA REBELLION. 263 

man for the crisis was Okiibo, a leader in the cabinet, the master 
spirit in crushing the rebellion, and now an ambassador at Peking. 
The result was that the Chinese paid in solid silver an indemnity 
of $700,000 and the Japanese disembarked. Japan single-handed, 
with no foreign sympathy, but with positive opposition, had in 
the interests of liumanity rescued a coast from terror and placed 
it in a condition of safety. In the face of threatened war a nation 
having but one-tenth the population, area, or resources of China, 
had abated not a jot of its just demands nor flinched from battle. 
The righteousness of her cause was vindicated. 

The Corean affair ended happily. Jn 1875 Kuroda Kiyotaka 
with men of war entered Corean waters. Patience, skill, and 
tact were crowned with success. On behalf of Japan a treaty of 
peace, friendship, and commerce was made betweeh the two coun- 
tries February 27, 1876. Japan thus peacefully opened this last 
of the hermit nations to the world. 

The rebellions which we have mentioned were of a mild type 
compared with that which in 1877 shook the government to its 
foundations. In the limits of our space it is impossible to enter 
deeply into the causes of the Satsuma rebellion. Its leader, Saigo 
Takamori, was one of the most powerful members of the reformed 
government until 1873 when he resigned as some of his prede- 
cessors had done, indignant at the peace polic}^ which was pur- 
sued. A veritable Cincinnatus, he seems to have won the hearts 
of all classes around him by the Spartan simplicity of his life and 
the affability of his manner, and there was none more able or 
more willing to come to the front when duty to his country called 
him. It is a thousand pities that such a genuine patriot should 
have sacrificed himself through a mistaken notion of duty. 
Ambition to maintain and extend the military fame of his coun- 
try seems to have blinded him to all other more practical consid- 
erations. The policy of Okubo and the rest of the majority in the 
cabinet, with its regard for peace and material prosperity, was in 
his eyes unworthy of the warlike traditions of old Japan. But 
we cannot follow out the story of this famous rebellion — how 
Saigo established a private school in his native city of Kagoshima 
for the training of young Shizoku in military tactics, how the re- 
ports of the policy of the government more and more dissatisfied 



264 THE SATSUMA REBELLION. 

liiin, until a rumor that Okubo had sent policemen to Kagoshima 
to assassinate him precipitated the storm that had been brewing. 
This report was not supported by satisfactory evidence, although 
the Kagoshima authorities extorted a so-called confession from a 
policeman. Okubo was too noble to be guilty of such an act. It 
was only after eight months of hard fighting, during which 
victory swayed from one side to another, and the death of Saigo 
and his leading generals when surrounded at last like rats in a 
trap, and tlie expenditure of over forty million yen, that the 
much tried government could freel}^ draw breath again. The 
people of Satsuma believe that Saigo's spirit has taken up its 
abode in the planet Mars, and that his figure may be seen there 
when that star is in the ascendant. 

By this time railways, telegraphs, lighthouse service, and a 
navy were well under construction in native works. Two 
national exhibitions were held, one in 1877 and the second in 
1881; the latter particularly was a pretentious one and a great 
success. In 1879 Japan annexed the Liu Kiu islands, bringing 
their king to Tokio, there to live as a vassal, and reducing the 
islands to the position of a prefecture in spite of the warlike 
threats of China. In the same year occurred the visit to Japan 
of General Grant while he was on his tour around the world. 
The famous American was entertained most enthusiastically by 
the citizens of Tokio for some two weeks in July. The enthusiasm 
awakened by his visit among the citizens was remarkable. Arches 
and illuminations were on every hand for miles. The entertain- 
ment provided by the Japane.^o for their distinguished guests at 
any time is so unique when seen by western eyes that it is always 
impressive and delightful. 



LIMITS AND POSSESSIONS OF THE JAPANESE EM- 
PIRE. 



The Islands and their Situation— The Famous Mountain Fuji-yama— Rivers and Canals 
—Ocean Currents and Their Effect on tlie Japanese Climate— Japan not a Tropical Country 
—Flora and Fauna— The Important Cities— Strange History of Yolcohama— Commerce— Min- 
ing— Agricultural Products— Ceramic Art— Government of the Realm. 

The empire of Japan is a collection of islands of various dimen- 
sions, numbering nearly four thousand, and situated to the east 
of the Asiatic continent. Only four of these however, are of size 
sufficient to entitle them to considerable fame, and around these 
a sort of belt of defense is formed by the thousands of islets. 
Dai Nippon is the name given by the natives to their beautiful 
land, and from this expression, which means Great Japan, our 
own name for the empire has been taken. Foreign writers have 
very often blundered in calling the largest island Nippon or 
Niphon. This more properly applies to the entire empire, while 
the main island is named in the military geography of Japan, 
Hondo. This word itself means main land. The other three im- 
portant islands are Kiushiu, the most southeasterly of all ; 
Shikoku, which lies between the latter and Hondo ; and Yesso, 
which is the most northerly of the chain. 

Japan occupies an important position on the surface of the 
globe, measured by political and commercial possibilities. Its 
position is such that its people may not unreasonably hope to 
form a natural link between the Occident and the Orient. Lying 
in the Pacific Ocean, in the temperate zone and not in the torrid, 
as many have the thought, it bends like a crescent off the conti- 
nent of Asia. In the extreme north, near the island of Saghalien, 
the distance from the main land of Asia is so short that it is little 
more than a day's sail in a junk. At the southern extremity, 
where Kiushiu draws nearest to the Corean peninsula, the distance 
to the main land is even less. Between this crescent of islands 
and tlie Asiatic main land is enclosed the Sea of Japan. For 
more than four thousand miles eastward stretches the Pacific 
Ocean, with no stopping point for steamers voyaging to San 

(265) 



^66 ISLANDS OF THE EMPIRE. 

Francisco unless they diverge far from their course for a call at 
Honolulu. 

The island connections of Japan are numerous. To the soutli 
are the Liu Kiu islands, which have been annexed to Japan, and 
still farther the great island of Formosa. To the north are the 
Kurile islands, which extend far above Yesso and were ceded to 
Japan by Russia in return for Saghalien, over w^hich rule was 
formerly disputed. The chain is almost continuous, although 
broken and irregular, to Kamtchatka, and thence prolonged hy 
the Aleutian islands in an enormous semicircle to Alaska and our 
own continent. 

The configuration of the land is that resulting from the com- 
bined effects of volcanic action and wave erosion. The area of 
the Japanese islands is about one hundred and fifty thousand 
square miles, or nearly as great as the New England and Middle 
States. But of this surface nearly two-thirds consists of mountain 
land, much of it still lying waste and uncultivated though appar- 
ently capable of tillage. On the main island a solid backbone of 
mountainous elevations runs through a great portion of its length, 
with subordinate chains extending at right angles and rising again 
in the other islands. The mountains decrease in height towards 
the south and there are few highlands along the sea coast. The 
range is reached by a gradual rise from the sea, until the back- 
bone of the great island chain is reached. Japan rises abruptly 
from the sea, and deep water begins very close to the shore, in- 
dicating that the entire range of islands may be properly char- 
acterized as an immense mountain chain thrown up from the 
bottom of the ocean. The highest peak is Fuji-yama, which rises 
to a height of more than twelve thousand feet above the sea. It 
is a wonderfully beautiful mountain, and is the first glimpse that 
one has of land in approaching Yokohama from the Pacific Ocean. 
Of the position which this mountain occupies in the affections and 
traditions of the Japanese, mention will be made in a later 
chapter. 

The islands forming the empire of Japan are comprehended in 
these limits; between twenty-four degrees and fifty-one degrees 
north latitude, and one hundred and twenty-four degrees and one 
hundred and fifty-seven degrees east longitude. That is, speaking 



FUJIYAMA. 



267 



roughly, it lies diagonally in and north of the subtropical belt, 
and has northern points corresponding with Paris and Newfound- 
land, and southern ones corresponding with Cairo and the 
Bermuda islands ; or coming nearer home, it corresponds pretty 
nearly in latitude with the eastern coast line of the United States, 
added to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and the contrasts of 
climate in the latter island and in Florida are probably not more 
remarkable than those which are observed in the extreme northern 
and southern regions of Japan. 

The most striking geographical feature of Japan is the Inland 




FUJI-YAMA. 



Sea, which is one of the beauties of the world. It is a long, 
irregularly shaped arm of the sea, with tides and rapid currents, 
of variable width and no great depth, studded with innumerable 
thickly wooded islands. It is the water area which separates 
Hondo from Shikoku and Kiushiu, and is often spoken of as the 
Japanese Mediterranean. 

One or two of the rivers of Japan, such as the Sumida, on the 
banks of which Tokio, the capital, lies, and which is about as 
broad as the East River between New York and Brooklyn, are 



268 RIVERS. 

wortliy of note. Here at the present time are situated several 
ship yards, and many modern craft built in the American fashion 
may be seen along the shore. Here it mav be mentioned that any 
particular appellation given to a river in Japan holds good only 
for a limited part of its course, so that it changes its name per- 
haps four or five times in flowing a few hundred miles. Indeed 
the river which passes tlirough the city of Ozaka changes its name 
four times within the city limits. Most of the larger rivers in 
the main land run a course tending almost north and south. The 
general contour of the land is such that they must be short, but 
this direction gives them the greatest length possible. There are 
brief periods of excessively heavy rain, and they are often then in 
fierce flood, carrying ever3^thing before them and leaving great 
plains of water-worn stones and gravel around their mouths. 
There are many picturesque waterfalls which attract travelers 
and command the admiration of native artists and poets. The 
rivers at a short distance from their outlets are rendered navigable 
chiefly by the courage and expertness of the boatmen, — who are 
among the most daring and skillful in the world. 

Till recently little has been done to deepen river channels or 
protect their banks, except in the interest of agriculture. In the 
lower courses, where broad alluvial plains of great fertility have 
been formed, they are frequently intersected by numerous shallow 
canals, for the most part of comparatively recent excavation, but 
some of them are many centuries old and these have been of im- 
mense service in keeping up communication throughout the 
country. In spite of their shallowness and rapid silting, some of 
the rivers of Japan are capable of being improved so as to admit 
of the passage of steam vessels of the largest size, and there are 
fine natural inlets and spacious bays which form harbors of great 
excellence. 

The Japanese coast is usually steep and even precipitous. Its 
chief natural features, such as sunken rocks, capes, straits, en- 
trances to bays and harbors and the mouths of rivers are now 
well marked with beacons or lighthouses of modern construction. 
The tides are not great, and in Yeddo bay the rise is only about 
four feet on an average. In spring tides it rarely exceeds six 
feet, and in general the height of the flood tide is never very 



GREAT OCEAN CURRENTS. 269 

great. Navigation in summer is somewhat dangerous and diffi- 
cult, owing to the mists and fogs which are deemed by its sailors 
to be the great scourge of Japan. Indeed these malarious cloud 
banks are probably as dangerous to the health of the landsmen as 
they are to the safety of the mariner. While a large area of land 
lying under shallow water, during rice cultivation, may have 
some share in the formation of these dangerous mists, there is the 
more general cause which is readily to be found in the ocean cur- 
rents. 

Japan occupies a striking position in these currents which flow 
northward from the Indian ocean and the Malay peninsula. That 
branch of the great Pacific equatorial current called the Kuro 
Shiwo, or dark tide or current, on account of its color, flows in 
a westerly direction past Formosa and the Liu Kiu islands, strik- 
ing the south point of Kiushiu and sometimes in summer send- 
ing a branch up the Sea of Japan. With great velocity it scours 
the east coast of Kiushiu and the south of Shikoku; thence with 
diminished rapidity it envelopes the group of islands south of the 
Bay of Yeddo ; and at a point a little north of Tokio it leaves 
the coast of Japan and flows northeast towards the shores of 
America, ultimately giving to our own Pacific coast states a far 
milder climate than the corresponding latitudes on the Atlantic 
coast. 

The yearly evaporation at the tropics, of fully fourteen or fif- 
teen feet of ocean water, causes the great equatorial current of 
the Pacific to begin its flow. When the warm water reaches the 
colder waters to the northward, condensation of the water-laden 
air takes place, with the resulting formation of great cloud banks. 
The water appears to be of a deep, almost indigo-blue color, 
whence the name given to the current by the Japanese. Fish 
occur in great numbers where the Arctic current of fresher, 
lighter, and cooler water meets the warm salt stream from the 
south, amidst great commotion. The analogy of this great cur- 
rent to the Gulf stream of the Atlantic is apparent, and there can 
be no doubt as to its great influence on the climate of Japan. A 
difference of from twelve to sixteen degrees may be observed in 
passing from its waters to the cold currents from the north, and 
the effect of this on the atmosphere is very marked. The sudden 



270 JAPANESE CLIMATE. 

and severe changes of temperature are often noticed on the 
souther]! coast of Japan and even in Yeddo bay. They are evi- 
dently due to eddies or branch currents from the great streams 
of cold and warm water which interweave themselves in the 
neighborhood. 

In the island of Yesso, the most northerly of the large ones, 
the extremes of temperature are nearly as great as in New En- 
gland. In the vicinity of Tokio the winter is usually clear and 
mild, with occasional sharp frosts and heavy falls of snow. In 
summer the heat is oppressive for nearly three months. Even at 
night the heat remains so high that sleep becomes almost impos- 
sible, the air being oppressive and no breeze stirring. The great- 
est heat is usually from the middle of June to early in September. 
The cold in winter is much more severe on the northwestern 
coast, and the roads across the main island are often blocked 
with snow for many months. In Yokohama the snow fall is light, 
not often exceeding two or three inches. The ice seldom exceeds 
an inch in thickness. Earthquake shocks are frequent, averag- 
ing more than one a month, but of late years there have been 
none of great severity. 

The winds of Japan are at all seasons exceedingly irregular, 
frequently violent, and subject to sudden changes. The north- 
east and easterly winds are generally accompanied by rain, and 
are not violent. The southwest and westerly winds are generally 
high, often violent, and accompanied with a low barometer. It 
is from the southwest that the cyclones or typhoons almost in- 
variably come. On clear and pleasant days, which in the neigh- 
borhood of Yokohama prevail in excess of foggy ones, there is a 
regular land and sea breeze at all seasons. The rainfall is above 
the average of most countries, and about two-thirds of the rain- 
falls during the six months from April to October. 

The flora of Japan is exceedingly interesting, not only to botan- 
ists and specialists, but to casual travelers and readers. The use- 
ful bamboo flourishes in all parts of the land ; sugar cane and the 
cotton plant grow in the southern part; tea is grown almost 
everywhere. The tobacco plant, hemp, corn, mulherry for silk- 
worm food, rice, wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat, potatoes, and 
yams are all cultivated. The beech, the oak, maples, and pine 



FAUNA. 273 

trees in rich variety ; azaleas, camelias, etc., grow in the forests. 
Some of the more characteristic phxnts are wisteria, cryptomeria, 
calceolaria and chrysanthemums. Various varieties of evergreens 
are grown, and the Japanese gardeners are peculiarly expert in 
cultivating these trees in dwarf forms of great beauty. Many 
familiar wild flowers can be gathered, such as violets, blue-bells, 
forge t- me nots, thyme, dandelions, and others. The woods are 
rich in ferns, among which the royal fern is conspicuous, and in 
orchids, ivies, lichens, mosses and fungi. The beautiful locusts, 
though imported, may now fairly be considered as naturalized. 
There are many water lilies, reeds and rushes, some of which are 
of great beauty and others of utility. 

The mammalia of Japan are not numerous. In ancient times, 
before the dawn of history, two species of dwarf elephants ex- 
isted in the plains around Tokio. There are many monkeys in 
some parts, even in the extreme northern latitudes. Foxes 
abound and are regarded with reverence. Wolves and bears are 
destructive in the north. There are wild antelopes, red deer, 
wild boars, dogs, raccoons, badgers, otters, ferrets, bats, moles, 
and rats ; while the sea is specially rich in seals, sea-otters, and 
whales. The country has been found quite unsuitable for sheep, 
but goats thrive well, although they are not much favored by the 
people. Oxen are used for draught purposes. Horses are small 
but are fair quality, and the breed is being improved. The cats 
are nearly tailless. The dogs are of a low, half-wolfish breed. 
There are some three hundred varieties of birds known in Japan. 
Few of them are what we call song-birds, but the lark is one 
brilliant exception. Game birds are plentiful, but are now pro- 
tected. 

Insects are very numerous, as no traveler will dispute, and 
Japan is a great field for investigation by entomologists. Locusts 
are often destructive, and mosquitoes are a great pest. Bees, the 
silk worm and the wax-insect are highly appreciated. 

There are several kinds of lizards, a great variety of frogs, 
seven or eight snakes, including one deadly species, and two or 
three kinds of tortoise. The crustaceans are numerous and inter- 
esting, and of fish there is extraordinary variety, especially those 
found in salt water. Oysters and clams are excellent and plentiful. 



274 JAPAN'S GREAT CITIES. 

Let us now turn to the temporal affairs of the people who dwell 
in this island empire, their cities, their industries, and to their 
government. 

Japan like its oriental companion, China, is a country of great 
cities, although the smaller empire has not so many famous for 
their size as has China. With scarcely an exception these greater 
cities are situated at the heads of bays, most of them good har- 
bors and accessible for commerce. The largest of these cities, of 
course, is the capital Tokio, which doubtless passes a million in- 
habitants, although it is impossible that it should justify the 
American tradition of not many years ago, that its numbers were 
twice a million. Tokio, or the old city of Yeddo, is situated near 
the head of Yeddo Bay, but a few miles from Yokohama, and but 
little farther from Uraga where the first reception to Commodore 
Perry was given. Among the other more important cities on the 
sea coast are Nagasaki, Yokohama, Hakodate, Hiogo, Ozaka, 
Hiroshima, and Kanagawa. 

Nagasaki is situated on the southwest coast of the island of 
Kiushiu, and is built in the form of an amphitheater. The Euro- 
pean quarter in the east, stands upon land reclaimed from the 
sea at considerable labor and expense. Desima, the ancient 
Dutch factory, lies at the foot, and behind it is the native part of 
the town. The whole is sheltered by high wooden mountains. 
The city of Nagasaki was almost the first which attracted the at- 
tention of foreigners, partly from its being already known by 
name from the Dutch colony established there ; partly because it 
was the nearest point to China and a port of great beauty ; and 
also because before the political revolution which overthrew the 
power of the shogunate, the daimios of the south were there en- 
abled, owing to its distance from Yeddo, to transact foreign 
affairs in their own way unmolested. This comparative import- 
ance did not last long, for affairs soon began to be concentrated in 
Yokohama, and the opening of the ports of Hiogo and Ozaka 
further reduced it to a secondary rank among commercial towns. 
It is still, however, a busy place and a great portion of the naviga- 
tion of the Japanese seas passes by its beautiful port. But it is 
not a town of the future, and will be supplanted in prosperity to 
considerable extent by the more northern cities. 



YOKOHAMA. 275 

Yokohama, situated on the Gulf of Yeddo, owes its rise and im- 
portance to the merchants who came to seek their fortunes in the 
empire of the rising sun immediately after the signature of the 
treaties which threw open the coasts of Japan to adventurous 
foreigners. When Perry, with his augmented fleet, returned to 
Japan in February, 185J:, the Japanese found him as inflexibly 
firm as ever. Listead of making the treaty at Uraga he must 
take it nearer Yeddo. Yokohama was the chosen spot, and there 
on the 8th of March, 1854, were exchanged the formal articles of 
convention between the United States and Japan. 

By the treaty of Yokohama, Shimoda was one of the ports 
opened to Americans. Before it began to be of much service the 
place was visited by an earthquake and tidal wave, which over- 
whelmed the town and ruined the harbor. The ruin of Shimoda 
was the rise of Yokohama. By a new treaty Kanagawa, three 
miles across the bay from Yokohama, was substituted for Shimoda. 
The Japanese government decided to make Yokohama the future 
port. Their reasons for this were many. Kanagawa was on the 
line of the great highway of the empire, along which the proud 
Daimios and their trains of retainers were continually passing. 
With the antipathy to foreigners that existed, had Kanagawa 
been made a foreign settlement, its history would doubtless have 
had many more pages of assassination and incendiarism than did 
Yokohama. Foreseeing this, even though considered by the 
foreign ministers a violation of treaty agreements, the Japanese 
government immediately set to work to render Yokohama as con- 
venient as possible for trade, residence and espionage. 

They built a causeway nearly two miles long across the lagoons 
and marshes to make it of easy access. They built granite piers, 
custom house and officers' quarters, and dwellings and store 
houses for the foreign merchants. After a long quarrel over 
which should be the cit}^ the straggling colony of diplomats, 
missionaries, and merchants of Kanagawa finally pulled up their 
stakes and joined the settlement of Yokohama. Yokohama was 
settled in a squatter-like and irregular manner, and the ill effects 
of it are seen to this day. When compared with Shanghai, the 
foreign metropolis of China, it is vastly inferior. 

The town grew slowly at first. Murders and assassinations of 



276 RISE OF THE CITY. 

foreigners were frequent during the first few years. Diplomatic 
quarrels were constant, and threats of bombardment from some 
foreign vessel in the harbor of frequent occurrence. A fire which 
destroyed nearly the whole foreign town seemed to purify the 
place municipally, commercially, and morally. The settlement 
was rebuilt in a more substantial and regular manner. As the 
foreign poj^ulation grew, banks, newspaper offices, hospitals, post- 
offices, and consulate buildings reappeared in a new dignity. Fire 
and police protection were organized. Steamers began to come 
from European ports and from San Francisco. Social life began 
as ladies and children came, and houses became homes. Then 
came the rapid growth of society and the finer things. Churches, 
theaters, clubs, schools were organized in rapid succession. Tele- 
graph connection with Tokio, and thence around the globe, was 
accomplished, and the railway system increased rapidly. Within 
the thirty-five years of the life of Yokohama, it has grown from a 
fishing village of a few hundred to a city of fifty thousand people. 
Its streets are lighted with gas and electricity ; its stores are piled 
full of rare silks, bronzes and curios. At present the foreign 
population of Yokohama numbers about two thousand residents. 
In addition to these the foreign transient population, made up of 
tourists and officers and sailors of the navy, and the merchant 
marine, numbers between three thousand and six thousand. 
Several daily newspapers, beside weeklies and monthlies, printed 
in English, furnish mediums of communication and news. Yoko- 
hama has become and will remain the great mercantile center of 
American and European trade in Japan. 

Hiogo, or rather Kobe, as the foreign part has been called since 
the concession, is near Ozaka, both towns being situated on the 
inland Sea of Japan, near the south end of the Island of Niphon. 
Kobe is a considerable foreign settlement, with many fine houses 
and spacious warehouses. Ozaka, which contains more than half 
a million inhabitants, is one of the chief trading cities of Japan, 
and an immense proportion of the merchandise imported into the 
empire passes through it. 

The commerce between Japan and western nations, European 
and American, increases 3'ear by year. England enjoys the 
profits from more than half of the total interchange, the United 



TRANS-OCEANIC COMMERCE. ^ 279 

States is second, with a large portion of the remainder, and the 
rest of the commerce is divided among Germany, France, Holland, 
Norway, and Sweden. It is impossible to obtain figures recent 
enough to be a satisfactory index of the total volume of commerce 
annually, but it is now very many millions of dollars a j^ear. 
Japan exports tobacco, rice, wax, tea, silks, and manufactured 
goods, such as curios, bronzes, lacquer ware, etc. The principal 
imports of Japan are cotton goods, manufactures of iron, ma- 
chinery of all sorts, woolen fabrics, flour, etc. 

Mining in Japan is seldom carried on by modern methods, and 
the mineral wealth has not been developed as it will be within a 
few years. In almost every portion of Japan are found ores of 
some kind and there is scarcely a district in which there are not 
traces of mines having been worked. No mines can be worked 
without special license of the government, and foreigners are ex- 
cluded from ownership in any mining industry. Japan seems to 
be fairly well, though not richly, provided with mineral wealth. 
The mines include those for gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, tin, 
plumbago, antimony, arsenic, marble, sulphur, alum, salt, coal, 
petroleum, and other minerals. 

The annual export of tea amounts to nearly thirty million 
pounds, of which considerably more than half is shipped from 
Yokohama. All Japanese tea is green and the United States is 
the chief customer for it. 

The exact area of Japan is not known, though it is computed 
at nearly one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, with a 
population of more than two hundred persons to a square mile. 
The number of acres under cultivation is about nine million, or 
one-tenth of the entire area. Not one-fourth of the fertile portion 
of Japan is yet under cultivation. Immense portions of good 
land await the farmers' plow and seed to return rich harvests. 
For centuries the agricultural art has been at a standstill. Pop- 
ulation and acreage have increased, but the crop in bulk and 
quantity remains the same. The true wealth of Japan consists 
in her agricultural and not in her mineral and manufacturing re- 
sources. The government and intelligent classes seem to be 
awakening to this fact. The islands are capable of yielding good 
crops and adapted to support the finest breeds of cattle. With 
14 



280 GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN. 

these branches of industry increased to the extent that they de- 
serve, the prosperity of the empire will show constant increase. 

The ceramic art of Japan and the art of the lacquer worker are 
two that have helped to make Japanese wares famous in the 
western world. The various wares of porcelain and faience are 
made in Japan in quality and art inferior to none in the world. 

Since the restoration to power of the mikado in 1868, the gov- 
ernment of Japan has been growing nearer and nearer into the 
forms of western monarchical governments. In a prior chapter 
the promise of the young mikado to advance the freedom of his 
people, and ultimately to adopt constitutional forms of rule, has 
been quoted. In the later years he has been aiming for the ful- 
fillment of this promise. Supporting him, the party of progres- 
sionists, largely influenced by contact with European and Amer- 
ican civilization, urge on every reform. The present government 
is simply the modernized form of the system established more 
than a thousand years ago, when centralized monarchy succeeded 
simple feudalism. After the emperor comes the Dai Jo Kuan, 
which is practically a supreme cabinet, and following this, three 
other cabinets of varying powers and duties. The council of 
ministers is made up of the heads of departments, the foreign 
office, home office, treasury, army, navy, education, religion, pub- 
lic works, judiciary, imperial household, and colonization. Tlie 
Dai Jo Kuan directs the three imperial cities and the sixty-eight 
ken or prefectures. The provinces are now merely geographical 
divisions. 

In the course of the efforts to bring the Japanese forms of gov- 
ernment more into harmony with those of Europe and America, 
many important changes have been made. A system of nobility 
was devised, and titles were granted to those who were considered 
to be entitled to them, whether by birth or achievement. The 
four or five ranks included in this system closely follow the Eng- 
lish models. 

The judiciary, too, has been remodeled in many details to make 
it approach the western system. The methods of procedure are 
gradually conforming nearer and nearer to our own, as well as 
the names and jurisdiction of the courts. The Japanese people 
have been exceedingly anxious of late years to expunge the extra- 



CONSTITUTION AND PARLIAMENT. 



281 



territoriality clause which appears in the treaties with all western 
nations. It provides, in effect, that offenses by a foreigner against 
a Japanese shall be judged in a consular court presided over by 
the consul of that country whence the foreigner comes. In other 
words, Japanese courts have no jurisdiction over the doings of 







JAPANESE COURT DRESS, OLD STYLE. 

foreigners having consuls in that country. This provision has 
become very obnoxious to the Japanese people, placing them on 
a level, as it does, with barbaric and semi-barbaric countries, 
where like provisions hold. This has been one of the potent fac- 
tors in influencing Japan to adopt western legal methods. Recent 



282 CONSTITUTION AND TAKLIAMENT. 

treaties which have been drawn with the United States and with 
England provide that this clause shall be expunged, and if they 
are finally agreed upon we may soon see Japan more absolutely 
independent than she has yet been. 

In 1890 a constitution was granted to Japan by the emperor, 
and a few months later legislative bodies for the first time began 
deliberation in Tokio. The powers of this parliament are con- 
stantly increasing. The war between China and Japan has been 
a strong influence to weld the people of opposing political faiths 
into harmony, and in parliament conservatives and radicals alike 
have risen in patriotism, and have been glad to cast votes for 
every measure that would hold up the hands of those who were 
bearing the battles. With a government drawing for itself lines 
parallel with those of enlightened western nations, iiicreasing the 
freedom of its people, the power of the people's legislators, and 
the honesty of the people's courts, Japan has every right to name 
herself as worthy of a place in full brotherhood with the family 
of civilized nations. 



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PERSONAI. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JAPANESE 

PEOPIvE. 



Difference of Opinion as to tlie True Significance of Tlieir Rapid Adoption of Western 
Civilization— Pliysique of Man and Woman— Two Great Classes of the Population— The 
Samurai— The Agricultural Laborer— Wedding Ceremonies— Elopements— Japanese Babies 
—Sports of ChildJiood and of Age— Dress of Man and Woman— Food— Homes of the People 
—Family Life— Art, Science, Medicine, Music— Language and Literature— Religion. 

In 8uch a state of transition are the Japanese people them- 
selves, as truly as the government, that it is difficult to describe 
their personal characteristics. Different observers reach different 
conclusions as to their personality. One affirms that great quick- 
ness of imitation and judgment in discovering what is worth imi- 
tating, seem to be the prominent characteristics of the Japanese. 
They want originality and independence of thought, and character 
which accompanies it. The Japanese are not slow in adopting 
the inventions of modern civilization, and even in modifying them 
to suit their own convenience, but, says another observer, that 
they will ever add anything of importance to them may be 
doubted. The same is true in a political point of view. The 
more enlightened of the Japanese are already beginning to recog- 
nize the superiority of the European forms of government. The 
upper classes are all sedulously imitating Paris and London 
fashions of dress. In our own country we have seen the preva- 
lence of an offensive Anglomania among certain classes of society 
in the larger cities, but in Japan a corresponding mania for the 
forms of western civilization has become almost universal, and is 
reaching the real bulk of the nation. Such extraordinary capacity 
for change may mark a versatile but unreliable race ; for it seems 
hard to believe that a people who are parting with their ancestral 
notions with such a total absence of any pangs of sorrow, will be 
likely to adhere with much steadfastness to anew order of things. 
On the other hand, other students of this movement take it to be 
only a most gratifying indication that Japan was a nation which 
had outgrown its narrow limits of thought and learning, ready to 
adopt whatever was good, and yearning for it when the oppor- 

(285) 



286 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RACE. 

tuiiity came, with a strength that made rapid assimilation of ideas 
entirely proper, and no sign of instability. It is to be hoped that 
the latter interpretation is the right one. 

In moral character the average Japanese is frank, honest, faith- 
ful, kind, gentle, courteous, confiding, affectionate, filial, and 
loyal. Love of truth for its own sake, chastity, and temperance 
are not characteristic virtues. A high sense of honor is cultivated 
by the Samurai. In spirit the average artisan and farmer is lamb- 
like. In intellectual capacity the actual merchant is mean, and 
his moral character low. He is beneath the Chinaman in this re- 
spect. The male Japanese is far less overbearing and more 
chivalrous to woman than any other Asiatic. In political knowl- 
edge, or gregarious ability, the countryman is a baby and the city 
artisan a boy. The peasant is a pronounced pagan, with supersti- 
tion ingrained into his inmost nature. In reverence to elders and 
to antiquity, obedience to parents, gentle manners, universal 
courtesy, and generous impulses the Japanese are the peers of 
any a«d superior to many peoples of Christendom. The idea of 
filial obedience has been developed into fanaticism and is the 
main blot of paganism and superstition. 

The Japanese in physique are much of the same type as the 
Spaniards, and inhabitants of the south of France. They are of 
middle or low stature. The men are about five feet six inches in 
height or a trifle less on an average, while the women rarely ex- 
ceed five feet. When dressed the Japanese look strong, well pro- 
portioned men, but when in the exceedingly slight costumes 
which they very often are pleased to adopt, it is then apparent 
that though their bodies are robust their legs are short and slight. 
Their heads are somewhat out of proportion to their bodies, being 
generally large and sunk a little between the shoulders, but they 
have small feet and delicate hands. The resemblance the 
Japanese bear to the Chinese is not nearly as marked as popular 
opinion would have it. The faces of the former are longer and 
more regular, their noses more prominent, and their eyes less 
sloped. The men are naturally very hirsute, but they never wear 
beards. Their hair is glossy, thick, and always black. Their 
eyes are black, their teeth white and slightly prominent. The 
shade of their skin is totally unlike the yellow complexions of the 



JAPANESE PHYSIQUE. 



287 



Chinese ; in some cases ifc is very swarthy or copper colored, but 
the most usual tint is an olive brown. Children and young people 
have usually quite pink complexions. 

The women follow the Chinese type a little closer. The eyes 
are narrower and sloped upward, and the head is small. Like 
the men their hair is glossy and very black, but it never reaches 
the length of American women's hair. They have clear, some- 
times even perfectly white skin, especially among the aristocracy, 
oval faces, and slender, graceful forms. Their manners are 
peculiarly artless and simple. But the harmony of the whole is 
spoiled in many instances by an ugly depression of the chest, 
which is sometimes observed 
in those who are otherwise 
handsomest and best formed. 

About the end of the eighth 
century a reform was insti- 
tuted in the military system 
of the empire, which had be- 
come unsatisfactory and de- 
fective. The court decided 
that all those among the rich 
peasants who had capacity 
and were skilled in archery 
and horsemanship, should 
compose the military class, 
and that the remainder, the 
weak and feeble, should con- 
tinue to till the soil and apply 
themselves to agriculture. 
This was one of the most 
significant of all the changes in the history of Japan. Its fruits 
are seen to-day in the social constitution of the Japanese people. 
Though there are many classes, there are but two great divisions 
of the Japanese, the military and the agricultural. 

This change wrought a complete severance of the soldier and 
the farmer. It lifted up one part of the people to a plane of life 
on which travel, adventure, the profession and pursuit of arms, 
letters, and the cultivation of honor and chivalry were possible, 




DRESSING THE HAIR. 



288 CASTE IN JAPAlSr. 

and by which that brightest type of Japanese men, the Samurai 
v/as produced. This is the class which for centuries has monopo- 
lized arms, polite learning, patriotism, and intellect of Japan. 
They are the men whose minds have been open to learn, from 
whom sprung the ideas that once made and later overthrew the 
feudal system, which wrought the mighty reforms that swept away 
the shogunate in 1868, and restored the mikado to ancient power, 
who introduced those ideas that now rule Japan, and sent their 
sons abroad to study the civilization of the west. To the 
Samurai Japan looks to-day for safety in war and progress in 
peace. The Samurai is the soul of the nation. In other lands the 
priestly and the military castes were formed, in Japan one and 
the same class held the sword and the pen ; the other class, the 
agricultural, remained unchanged. 

Left to the soil to till it, to live and die upon it, the Japanese 
farmer has remained the same to-day that he was then. Like the 
wheat, that for successive ages is planted as wheat, sprouts, 
beards and fills as wheat, the peasant with his horizon bounded by 
his rice fields and w^ater courses or the timbered hills, his intellect 
laid away for safe keeping in the priest's hands, is the son of the 
soil. He cares little who rules him unless he is taxed beyond the 
power of flesh and blood to bear, or an overmeddlesome official 
policy touches his land to transfer, sell or divide it. Then he 
rises to rebel. In time of war he is a disinterested and a passive 
spectator and he does not fight. He changes masters with 
apparent unconcern. Amidst all the ferment of ideas induced by 
the contact of western civilization with Asiatic within the last 
four decades, the farmer stolidly remains conservative. He knows 
not nor cares to hear of it and hates it because of the heavier 
taxes it imposes upon him. 

The domestic solemnities of the Japanese, marriage especially, 
are made the subjects of deep and careful meditation. In the 
upper classes marriage is arranged between two young people 
when the bridegroom has reached his twentieth and the bride her 
sixteenth year. The will of the parents is almost without excep- 
tion the dominating power in the matrimonial arrangements, 
which are carried out according to agreement among the relatives, 
but love affairs of a spontaneous kind form a large element in the 



MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 289 

romantic literature of Japan. The wedding is preceded by a be- 
trothal, which ceremony offers an occasion for the members of 
both families to meet one another ; and it not unfreqnently hap- 
pens that the future couple then learn for the first time the wishes 
of their parents respecting their union. If perchance the bride- 
groom elect is not satisfied with the choice, the young woman re- 
turns home again. With the introduction of other western ideas, 
this inconvenient custom is little by little falling into disuse. 
Nowadays, if a young man wishes to marry into a family of good 
position or one which it would be advantageous to his prospects to 
enter, he endeavors first to see the 3^oung lady, and then if she 
pleases him he sends a mediator, chosen usually from amongst his 
married friends, and the betrothal is arranged without any further 
obstacle. Even more American-like than this, however, there are 
many instances, and the number is constantly increasing, in which 
the match is the result of mutual affection, and sometimes elope- 
ments are known to occur among the best families. 

When things are carried through conventionally, the betrothal 
and wedding are usually solemnized on the same day and without 
the assistance of any minister of worship. The customary cere- 
monies are all of a homely nature, but at the same time are ex- 
tremely complicated and numerous. Upon the day fixed, the 
trousseau of the young bride and all the presents she has received, 
are brought to the home of the bridegroom, where the ceremony 
is to be performed, and arranged in the apartments set apart for 
the affair. The bride arrives soon afterward, dressed in white and 
escorted by her parents. The groom, arrayed in gala costume, 
receives her at the entrance of the house, and conducts her into 
the hall where the betrothal takes place. Here grand prepa- 
rations have been made. The altar of the domestic gods has been 
decorated with images of the patron saints of the family and with 
different plants, each having its symbolical meaning. 

When all have taken their places according to the recognized 
form of precedence, the ceremony is begun by two young girls, 
who hand around unlimited quantities of saki to the guests. 
These two damsels are surnamed the male and female butterfly, 
the emblems of conjugal felicity, because according to popular 
notion butterflies always fly about in couples. The decisive cere- 



290 THE WEDDING CEREMONY. 

mony is tinged with a symbolism which has a considerable touch 
of poetry in it. The two butterflies, holding between them a two- 
necked bottle, approach and offer it to the engaged couple to 
drink together from the two mouths of the bottle till it is emptied, 
which signifies that husband and wife must drain together the cup 
of life whether it contain nectar or gall ; they must share equally 
the joys and sorrows of existence. 

The Japanese is the husband of one wife only, but he is at lib- 
erty to introduce several concubines under the family roof. This 
is done in all classes of society, especially amongst the daimios. 
It is asserted that in many of the noble families the legitimate wife 
not only evinces no jealousy, but has even a certain pleasure in 
seeing the number of her household thus augmented, as it supplies 
her with so many additional servants. In the middle classes, 
however, the custom is often the cause of bitter family dis- 
sentions. 

The heavy expenses of the marriage ceremonies often occasion 
considerable domestic strife and misery, at least if they are cele- 
brated according to all the established conventionalities. Debts 
are then incurred which perhaps the young couple are unable to 
meet, so that when other expenses grow, and trouble or misfor- 
tune overtake them, they are speedily plunged into the deepest 
distress and indigence. The natural consequence of these- arbi- 
trary customs is the increase of runaway matches. The elope- 
ment, however, is usually wisely winked at by the parents, who 
feign great lamentation and anger, then finally assemble their 
neighbors, pardon their recreant children, and circulate the inevi- 
table saki, and the marriage is considered as satisfactory as if per- 
formed with all the requisite formalities. 

The birth of a child is another occasion for the meeting of the 
whole circle of relations, and the consumption of a great many 
more bumpers of saki. The baptism of the young Japanese 
citizen takes place thirty days later, when the infant is taken to 
the temple of the family divinity to receive its first name. The 
father has previously written three different names upon three 
separate slips of paper, which are handed over to the officiating 
bonze or priest. The latter throws them into the air, and the 
piece of paper which in falling first touches the ground contains 



JAPANESE BABIES. 



291 



the name which is to be given to the child. There are no god- 
parents, but several friends of the family declare themselves the 
infant's protectors and make it several presents; among which is 
a fan if it be a bo}^ or a pot of rouge if a girl. 

The Japanese child is early taught to endure hardships, and is 
subjected from its infancy to all the small miseries of life, so far 
as may be thought wise for its training. The mother nurses it 
till it is two years of age, and carries it continually about with 
her attached to her back for con- 
venience. The children are daintily 
pretty, chubby, rosy, sparkling-eyed. 
The children's heads are shaved in 
all curious fashions, some with little 
topknots, and others with bald spots. 
The way the babies are carried is an 
improvement upon the Indian fashion. 
He is lugged on the back of his 
mother or his sister, maybe scarcely 
older than himself, either strapped 
loosely but safely, with his head just 
peering above the shoulder of the 
bearer, or else enclosed in a fold of 
the garment she wears. It is a pop- 
ular belief among travelers that 
Japanese babies are the best in the 
world and never cry, but the Japanese 
themselves claim no such distinction 
for the little ones, very proud of them 
though they are, and affirm that they child carrying baby. 
have their fits of temper as well as American babies. 

Education is not forced too early upon the children, but nature 
is allowed its own way during the first years of childhood. Toys, 
pleasures, fetes of all kinds, are liberally indulged in. One writer 
has said that Japan is the paradise of babies ; not only is this true 
but it is also a very delightful abode for all who love play. The 
contrast between the Japanese and Chinese character in this re- 
spect is radical. The whole character, manners, and even the 
dress of the sedate and dignified Chinaman, seems to be in keep- 




292 SrORTS OF YOUNG AND OLD. 

iiig with that aversion to rational amusement and athletic exer- 
cises which characterize that adult population. In Japan, on the 
contrary, one sees that children of the larger growth enjoy with 
equal zest, games which are tlie same or nearly the same as those 
of the little ones. Certain it is that the adults do all in their 
power to provide for the children their full quota of play and 
harmless sports. 

A very noticeable change has passed over the Japanese people 
since the recent influx of foreigners, in respect of their love of 
amusements. Their sports are b}^ no means as numerous or 
elaborate as formerly, and they do not enter into them with the 
enthusiasm that formerly characterized them. The children's 
festivals and sports are rapidly losing their importance, and some 
are rarely seen. There is no country in the world in which there 
are so many toy shops for the sale of the things which delight 
children. Street theatrical shows are common. Sweet meats of 
a dozen strange sorts are carried by men who do tricks in gym- 
nastics to please the little ones. In every Japanese city there are 
scores if not hundreds of men and women who obtain a livelihood 
by amusing the children. There are indoor games and outdoor 
games, games for the day time and games for the evening. 
Japanese kite flying and top spinning are famous the world over, 
and experts in these sports come to exhibit their adeptness in our 
own country. In the northern provinces, where the winters are 
severe, Japanese boys have the same sports with snow and ice, 
coasting, sliding, fighting mimic battles with snowballs, that are 
known to our own American boys. Dinners, tea parties, and 
weddings, keeping store, and playing doctor, are imitated in 
Japanese children's games. 

On the third day of the third month is held the wonderful 
" Feast of Dolls " which is the day especially devoted to the girls, 
and to them it is the greatest day in the year. The greatest day 
in the year for the boys is on the fifth day of the fifth month, 
when they celebrate what is known as the " Feast of Flags." 

A Japanese attains his majority at fifteen years of age. As 
soon as this time has arrived he takes a new name, and quietly 
discards the pleasures of infancy for the duties of a practical life. 
His first care, if he belong to the middle classes, is the choice of 



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CHOOSING A BUSINESS. 295 

a trade or profession. The opportunities for this choice are mmch 
greater than in China, just as the scope of Japanese learning and 
life has increased in the last quarter century. Practically all of 
the businesses and trades that we know in our own country are 
to-day known in Japan, those which were not there before, having 
crept in with the advent of the foreigners. The Japanese young 
man, if he is to be a merchant or to learn a trade, serves an ap- 
prenticeship for a period sufficient to fit him for the mastery of 
his work, and then it is he provides himself with a wife. 

The dress of the Japanese is changing in harmony with the in- 
troduction of other foreign habits. Custom has always obliged 
married women to shave their eyebrows and blacken their teeth, 
but of late years the practice has been decreasing and now it does 
not prevail among the better classes and in the larger cities. 
They have also made a most immoderate use of paint, covering 
their brow, cheeks, and neck with thick coats of rouge and white. 
Some have even gone so far as to gild their lips, but the more 
modest have been content to color them with carmine, and the 
excessive use of paints is diminishing. 

The kirimon, a kind of long, open dressing gown, is worn by 
every one, men and women alike. It is a little longer and of bet- 
ter quality for the women, who cross it in front and confine it by 
a long wide piece of silk, or other material tied in a quaint 
fashion at the back. The men keep theirs in its place by tying a 
long straight scarf around them. The Japanese use no linen, the 
women alone wearing a chemise of silk crepe, but it must be re- 
membered that they bathe daily or even oftener, and that sim- 
plicity of dress is affected by all. 

The middle classes wear in addition to the kirimon, a doublet 
and pantaloons. These are also v/orn in winter by men of the 
lower orders, the pantaloons fitting tightly, and made of checked 
cotton. The peasants and porters usually wear a loose overall in 
summer, made of some light paper material, and in winter not un- 
frequently cor^sisting of coarse straw. The women also envelop 
themselves in one or several thickly wadded mantles. Linen 
gloves with one division for the thumb are very generally worn. 
Sandals are made of plaited straw, and in bad weather are dis- 
carded for wooden clogs, raised from the ground by means of two 



296 



THE DRESS OF MEN AND WOMEN. 



bits of wood under the the and heel. As might naturally be ex- 
pected, locomotion under such circumstances is performed with 
difficult}", and the hobblijig gate which these props necessitate has 
often been commented on. This peculiarity is most noticeable 
among the women, whose naturally easy gait is almost as much 
diverted from its normal movement by these small stilts as that of 
their sisters in the west by their high heeled shoes. The costume 
of the country is exactly alike for both the lower and higher 
classes, with the difference that the latter always wear silk 
material. The costumes worn by officials, and those of the 

nobility, are dis- 
tinguished by the 
amplitude of the 
folds and the rich- 
ness of the texture. 
Wide flowing 
pantaloons are 
often substituted 
for the kirimon, 
which trail on the 
ground, complete- 
ly concealing the 
feet, and give the 
wearer the appear- 
ance of walking on 
his knees, which 
indeed is the delu- 
sion it is intended 
to produce. A kind of overcoat with wide sleeves reaching to 
the hips completes the costume. 

The dwelling houses of the Japanese are well adapted to their 
manners of life, except that they are not always sufficient pro- 
tection against severe cold. Rich and poor live side by side, 
although in Tokio there are still traces of the castes of the feudal 
age, and there are also growing tendencies in the rising mercantile 
and moneyed classes to separate themselves from the common 
mass. There are now great portions of the capital densely popu- 




^/^' 



JAPANESE BATH. 



DWELLINGS OF THE JAPANESE. 297 

lated by the working classes only, and quite destitute of any open 
spaces of practical value for health and recreation. 

The proverb '* Every man's house is his castle," might very 
readily be appropriated by the Japanese, whose home, however 
humble it may be in all other respects, is always guarded by a 
moat. In a feudal mansion the moat was usually deep enough to 
prove a genuine obstacle. While it is still almost universally re- 
tained, the muddy water is hidden in summer time by the leaves 
of the lotus, and the bridges are not drawn. The smaller gentry 
imitate the grandeur of those above them, and when at last we 
come down to the lowest level we still find a miniature moat 
which is often dry, of a foot or so in breadth, and at most about 
two inches deep. 

In houses of some pretensions there is an enbankment behind 
the moat, with a hedge growing above it. Behind this there is 
either a wall or fence of bamboo, tiles, or plaster. As the name 
of the street is not to be found at the street corner as with us, it 
is repeated on every doorway. The towns are divided into wards 
and blocks, and the numbers of the houses are often confused and 
misleading. A slip of white wood is nailed on one of the posts 
of the gate, and is inscribed with the name of the street or block, 
the number, name of liouse holder, numbers and sexes of house- 
hold. The gates of the larger houses are heavy, adorned with 
copper or brass mountings, and often studded with large nails. 

When one enters by the gate there is generally found a court, 
from the sides of which the open verandas of the building may be 
reached. The verandas are high and there is a special entrance 
by heavy wooden stairs. The court is sometimes paved with 
large stones, and sometimes it is left bare or covered with turf. 
The gardens even of somewhat humble mansions are graced with 
carved stone lanterns. The well placed near the kitchen often 
has a rim of stone around it, and the bucket is raised by a beam 
or a long bamboo. 

In front of the doorway there is a small space unfloored called 
the doma, where one takes off his shoes after announcing himself 
by calling, or by striking a gong suspended by the door post. 
There is often only one story in Japanese houses, and very rarely 
more than two. Almost all of them are built of wood; the ground 



298 INTERIOR OF THE HOUSE. 

floor is raised about four feet above the ground, the walls are 
made of planks covered with coarse mats ; and. the roof is sup- 
ported by four pillars. In a two-storied house the second story is 
generally built more solidly than the first ; experience having 
shown that the edifice can thus better resist the shock of an 
earthquake. Sometimes the walls are plastered with a coating of 
soft clay or varnish, and are decorated with gildings and paint- 
ings. The stair to the second story is very steep. The ceilings 
are composed of very thin, broad planks, and are lower than we 
are accustomed to, but it must be remembered that the people do 
not sit on chairs and have no high beds or tables. Doorwaj^s, or 
rather the grooved lintels in which the screen doors slide, are very 
low and the Japanese, who are always bowing, seem to enjoy 
having an unusual number of them to pass through in extensive 
houses. No room is completely walled in, but each one opens on 
one or more sides completely into tlie garden, the street, or the 
adjoining room. Sliding shutters, with tissue paper windows, the 
carpentry of which is careful and exact, move in wooden grooves 
almost on a level with the floor, which is covered with padded 
woven mats of rushes. As a protection against the severities of 
the weather rain shutters are also used. 

All Japanese dwellings have a cheerful, well-cared-for appear- 
ance, which in a great measure is the result of two causes ; first, 
that every one is bound constantly to renew the paper coverings 
of the outside panels, and next that the frequent fires which each 
time make immense ravages often render it necessary to recon- 
struct an entire district. In the interior the houses are generally 
divided into two suites of apartments, the one side being appor- 
tioned to the women as private rooms, and the other side being 
used for the reception rooms. These apartments are all separated 
from one another by partitions made of slight wooden frames, 
upon which small square bits of white paper are pasted, or else a 
kind of screen is used which can be moved at pleasure and the 
room enlarged or contracted according as the occasion requires. 
Towards nightfall these screens are usually folded up so as to 
allow a free passage of air throughout the house. 

The mats of rushes or rice straw which carpet the floors are 
about three inches thick, and are soft to the touch. They are of 



BEDS AND OTHER FURNITURE. 



299 



uniform size, about six feet by three, and this fact dominates all 
architecture in Japan. Estimates for building houses and the 
cutting of wood rest upon this traditional custom. The inhab- 
itants never soil them with tlieir boots but always walk bare- 
footed about the house. The mat in Japan answers the purpose 
of all ordinary furniture, and takes the place of our chairs, tables, 
and beds. For writing purposes only do they use a low round 
table about a foot high, which is kept in a cupboard and only 
brought out when a letter has to be written. This they do 
kneeling before the table, which they carefully put away again 




JAPANESE COUCH. 



when the letter is finished. The meals are laid upon square 
tables of very slender dimensions, around which the whole family 
gather, sitting on their heels. 

In the walls are recesses with sliding doors into which the bed- 
ding is thrust in the daytime. At bedtime out of these recesses 
are taken the soft cotton stuffed mattresses and the thick cover- 
lets of silk or cotton which have been rolled up all day, and these 
are spread upon the mats. The Japanese pillows are of wood, 
with the upper portions stuffed or padded, and in form something 
like a large flat iron. Sometimes each one contains a little 
15 



300 CONFLAGRATIONS. 

drawer in which the ladies put their hairpins. When a Japanese 
has taken off his day garments he rests his head on this wooden 
pillow and composes himself to sleep. Everything is put away 
in the morning, all the partitions are opened to give air, the mats 
are carefully swept, and the now completely empty chamber is 
transformed during the day into an office, sitting room, or dining 
room, to become again the sleeping apartment the following 
night. 

Clothes are kept in plaited bamboo boxes usually covered with 
black or dark green waterproof paper. The furniture is very 
simple, and there are often in the best houses no chairs, no tables, 
no bedsteads. There may be some low, short-legged side tables 
of characteristic Japanese pattern and one or two costly vases or 
other ornaments, a few pictures which are changed in deference 
to guests and seasons, some flowers or dwarf trees in vases and a 
lamp or two. There are, however, two pieces of furniture which 
are to be found in the houses of every class. These are the 
brazier and the pipe box, for the Japanese is a great tea drinker 
and a constant smoker. Every hour in the day his hot water 
must be ready for him, and the brazier kept burning both day 
and night both in sunnner and winter. 

The principal meal takes place about the middle of the day, 
and after it the family indulge themselves with several hours' 
sleep, so that at this time the streets are almost deserted. In the 
evening they have another meal, and then devote the rest of the 
time till bedtime to all kinds of amusements. In the highest 
Japanese circles the dinner hour is sometimes enlivened by music 
from an orchestra stationed in an adjoining room. 

In summer a well-planned Japanese house is the very ideal of 
coolness, grace and comfort. In winter it is the extreme of 
misery. There are no fire-places and there is unmitigated venti- 
lation. People keep themselves warm by holding themselves 
close over some morsels of red hot charcoal in a brazier, and frost 
bite is very common. At night, when cold winds blow, a heat- 
ing apparatus is put beneath the heavy cotton coverlets. It often 
gets overturned ; a watchman from his ladder-like tower sees afar 
off a dull red glow, bells begin to clang, and soon the city is iu 
an uproar of excitement over another conflagration. In a few 



JAPANESE MINIATURE GARDENS. 301 

hours a great fan-shaped gap has appeared in the city. One goes 
at day -break to find the scene of destruction, but it has already 
almost disappeared. Crowds of carpenters have rushed in, and 
have already done much to erect on the hot and smoking ruins 
wooden houses nearly as good as those swept away by the fire of 
the night before. 

The yashikis or palaces in which the people of rank reside, are 
nothing more than ordinary houses grouped together and sur- 
rounded by whitewashed outhouses, with latticed windows of 
black wood. These outhouses serve a two-fold purpose, as habi- 
tations for the domestics, and as a wall of the enclosure. Always 
low, and usually rectangular, they look very much like ware- 
houses or barracks. The palace of the sovereign has, however, a 
certain character of its own. It is a perfect labyrinth of courts 
and streets formed by the many separate houses, pavilions, and 
corridors or simple wooden partitions. The roofs are supported 
by horizontal beams varnished white, or gilded at the extremities, 
and decorated with small pieces of sculpture, many of which are 
very beautiful works of art. The ancient palace of the Tycoons 
is remarkable for boldness and richness of outline. Everything 
breathes a spirit of the times when the power and prosperity of 
the shogunate was at its height. Upon the ceilings of gold, 
sculptured beams cross each other in squares, the angles where 
they meet being marked by a plate of gilt bronze of very elegant 
design. 

The greatest novelties in the eyes of foreigners are the gardens 
attached to every house. The smallest tradesman has his own 
little plot of ground where he may enjoy the delights of solitude, 
take his siesta, or devote himself to copious potations of tea and 
saki. These gardens are often of exceedingly small size. They 
consist of a quaint collection of dwarf shrubs, miniature lakes full 
of gold fish, lilliputian walks in the middle of diminutive flower 
beds, tiny streams over which are little green arches to imitate 
bridges, and finally arbors or bowers beneath which a rabbit 
might scarcely find room to nestle. 

The Japanese are as strict in the observance of etiquette at a 
funeral as at their marriage ceremonies. The rites take place 
both at the time of the actual interment, and afterwards at the 



302 FUNERAL CUSTOMS. 

festivals celebrated in honor of the gods on these occasions. 
There are two kinds of funerals, interment and cremation. Most 
of the Japanese make known during life either to the heir or to 
some intimate friend their wishes respecting the mode of the 
disposal of their remains. When the father or mother in a family 
is seized with a mortal illness and all hope of recovery is past and 
the end approaching, the soiled garments worn by the dying per- 
son are removed and exchanged for perfectly clean ones. The 
last wishes of the dying one are then recorded on paper. As soon 
as life has departed all the relations give way to lamentations ; 
the body is carried into another room, covered with a curtain and 
surrounded by screens. In the higher classes the body is watched 
for two days, but in the lower it is buried a day after death. 

Contrary to the customs at marriage ceremonies, the bonzes or 
priests preside over all the funeral rites. It is they who watch 
beside the dead until the time for interment. This is usually 
carried out by men who make it their profession. The corpse is 
placed in a coffin, somewhat of the shape of a round tub, in a 
squatting position, with the head bowed, the legs bent under, and 
the arms crossed ; the lid of the coffin is then fastened down by 
wooden pegs. The funeral procession proceeds to the temple, the 
bonzes marching first, some carrying flags, others different sym- 
bols, such as little white boxes full of flowers, others wringing 
small hand-bells. Then follows the corpse, preceded by a long 
tablet upon which is inscribed the new name given to the 
deceased. The eldest son follows, and then the family, intimate 
friends, and domestics. The nearest relations are dressed in 
white which is the color worn for mourning. 

When the procession arrives at the temple the coffin is placed 
before the image of the god and then various ceremonies com- 
mence, the length of which is regulated by the rank of the de- 
ceased, as with us. After that all the friends and acquaintances 
return home, whilst the relations turn to the place where the 
body is to be laid. If the deceased has expressed the desire that 
his body should be burned, the coffin is carried from the temple 
to a small crematory a short distance away. It is there placed 
upon a kind of stone scaffold, at the base of which a fire is kept 
burning until the body is consumed. The men employed in this 



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PROGRESS OF EDUCATION". 305 

work draw out the bones from tlie ashes by means of sticks, the 
remaining ashes are placed in an urn, and carried to the tomb by 
the relations. The burials of the poor outcasts from society are 
very simple. The body is interred at once without entering in 
the temple, or else it is burnt in some waste spot. 

Japanese cemeteries are most carefully cherished spots, and are 
always bright with vendure and flowers. Each family has its 
own little enclosure, where several simple commemorative stones 
stand. Once a year a festival for the dead is held. It is cele- 
brated at night. The cemetery is illuminated by thousands of 
colored fires, and the whole population resort there, and eat, 
drink, and enjoy themselves in honor of their dead ancestors. 

Their incapacity for conceiving sorrow is one of the most 
characteristic features of the Japanese. Perhaps this psychologi- 
cal phenomenon is due to the influences amidst which this happy 
people have the privilege of living. It is an indisputable fact that 
where nature is bright and beautiful the inhabitants themselves 
of that particular spot, like the scenery, seem to expand under 
its sweet influence and to become bright and happy. Such is the 
case with the Japanese, who while yielding almost unconsciously 
to these influences, deepen them by their eager pursuit of all 
things gay and beautiful. 

Japan is progressive enough that it has a compulsory system of 
education, which is sure to be ultimately fatal to idolatrous 
religions. There are more than three million children in the 
elementary schools, not to mention those in the higher institu- 
tions. The ability to read and write is almost universal among 
the people. Steady improvement is observed from year to year, 
in the attendance and quality of the government schools. The 
various schools in connection with the protestant and Roman 
missions, which are numerous and influential are also well at- 
tended and constantly growing. A large number also of the 
wealthier classes have their children taught privately at home. 
The average attendance of the Japanese children at the schools is 
nearly one-half the total number of school age. Education is 
very highly esteemed by every class, and all are willing to make 
genuine sacrifices to obtain it for their children. 

Penmanship is laid great stress upon, and there are many 



*^^-- 



306 MEDICAL AND SURGICAL SCIENCE. 

different styles in use. The blackboard is used in all schools 
now, and the artistic tendencies of the people are often well dis 
played on it. The Arabic numerals are fast displacing the old 
Chinese system. A great many of the methods of European and 
American teaching have been introduced into Japan, and their 
use is constantly on the increase. 

Universities and academies supported by the government have 
been chiefly under the direction of American and European pro- 
fessors, and the western languages are taught everywhere. In 
addition to this educational element introduced into the country, 
there is that brought in by the large number of Japanese young 
men who have been sent to the universities of the United States, 
Germany, France, and England to complete their education. In 
our own colleges these young men have ranked with the highest 
as linguists, scientists, and orators. The influence that they have 
exerted in Japan, where they have invariably taken a high posi- 
tion, either officially or educationally, has been most beneficial to 
the advance of learning in the island empire. 

The excessive cleanliness of the Japanese, the simplicity of 
their apparel, which allows their bodies to be so much exposed to 
the open air, added to the salubrity of their country, might rea- 
fionably lead one to imagine that they enjoy excellent health. 
Such however is not the case. Diseases of the skin, and chronic 
and incurable complaints are very prevalent. The hot baths are 
the great remedies for everything, but in certain cases the aid of 
the physicians is enlisted. These form a class of society which 
has existed from a very early date, and enjoy certain privileges. 
They are divided into three classes, the court physicians, who are 
not permitted to practice elsewhere, the army physicians, and 
lastly the common physicians, not employed by the government, 
who attend all classes of the community. As no formalities used 
to be required for the practice of medicine, each member entered 
on the career at his pleasure and practiced according to his own 
theories on the subject. It is a profession often handed down 
from father to son, but it is not a lucrative one, and is looked upon 
as an office of little importance or consideration. 

Medical men nevertheless abound in Japan, and in addition to 
recognized practitioners, there is a class of quacks exactly answer- 



MUSIC. 



307 



ing to those of our own country. Their science principally par- 
takes of the nature of sorcery. Where hot baths fail to produce 
tlie desired effect, they have recourse to acupuncture and cauter- 
isation. Acupuncture consists in pricking with a needle the parf 
affected, a mode of healing which has been practiced from time 
immemorial in the east. After the skin has been stretched suffi- 
ciently tight, the needle is thrust in perpendicularly either by 
rolling between the fingers or by a direct gentle pressure, or else 
by striking it lightly with a small hammer made for the purpose. 
Cauterisation is performed with little cones called moxas, formed 




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GEfSHA GIRLS PLAYING JAPANESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 



of dried wormwood leaves, and prepared in such a manner as to 
consume slowly. One or more of these is applied to the diseased 
part and set alight. The mode of cauterising wounds has fre- 
quently the effect of strongly exciting the nervous system, but 
does not seem to improve the general health of the patient ma- 
terially. The national university of Tokio has a medical depart- 
ment in connection with it, which teaches medical science accord- 
ing to our own western methods. Hospitals exist in the large 
cities of Japan which are similarly equipped to those of our own 



308 MUStC. 

country, and are under the direction of physicians and surgeons, 
most of whom are either Europeans and Americans, or Japanese 
who have been educated in medical colleges abroad. Manyj^oung 
women of Japan have come to America to take courses in nursing 
in our great hospitals and training schools, and on their return to 
Japan are spreading the knowledge they have thus gained. 

Music is one of the most cultivated of the fine arts of Japan, 
and Japanese tradition accords it a divine origin. The Japanese 
have many stringed, wind, and percussion instruments, but the 
general favorite is the sam-sin or guitar with three strings. There 
are also the lutes, several kinds of drums and tambourines, fifes, 



JAPANESE ALPHABET, NEW. 



clarionets, and flageolets. The Japanese have no idea of harmony. 
A number of them will often perform together, but they are never 
in tune. They are not more advanced in melody ; their airs recall 
neither the savage strains of the forest nor the scientific music of 
the west. In spite of this their music has the power of charming 
them for hours together, and it is only among the utterly unedu- 
cated classes that a young girl is to be found unable to accompany 
herself in a song on the sam-sin. 

In the department of jurisprudence great progress has been made. 
Scarcely any nation on earth can show a more revolting list of 
horrible methods of punishment and torture in the past, and none 
can show greater improvement in so short a time. The cruel and 



LAW AXD LANGUAGE. 809 

blood-thirst J code was mostly borrowed from China. Since the 
restoration, revised statutes and regulations have greatly decreased 
the list of capital punishments, reformed the condition of prisons, 
and made legal processes more in harmony with mercy and 
justice. The use of torture to obtain testimony is now entirely 
abolished. Law schools have also been established and lawyers 
are allowed to plead, thus giving the accused the assistance of 
counsel for his defense. 

The Japanese tongue has for a long time been regarded merely 




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JAPANESE ALPHABET, OLD. 



as an offshoot of the Chinese language, or at any rate as being 
very nearly connected with it. Stud}^ however, and the com- 
parison of the two languages has rectified this error. Japanese 
understand Chinese writing because the Chinese characters form 
part of the numerous kinds in use in Japan. This is easily under- 
stood when it is remembered that Chinese characters represent 
neither letters nor meaningless sounds, which are only the con- 
stituent parts of a word, but are words themselves, or rathei 
the ideas that these words express ; consequently the same ideas 



310 LITERATURE OF JAPAJ^^. 

can be communicated although expressed by different words t»i 
any one who is acquainted with the signification of the characters. 
The Japanese language is very soft and agreeable to the ear, but 
travelers declare that no one born out of the country could pos- 
sibly pronounce some of the words. They have a system of forty- 
eight syllabic signs, which can be doubled by means of signs added 
to the consonants, which modify the sound, and render it harder 
or softer. This system, it is said, dates from the eighth century 
and can be written in four different series of characters. 

Japanese literature comprises books on science, biography, 
geography, travels, philosophy, and natural history, as well as 
poetry, dramatic works, romances, and encyclopedias. The latter 
seem to be little more than picture books, with explanatory 
notes, arranged like other Japanese dictionaries, sometimes alpha- 
betically, but more often quite fancifully and without any attempt 
at scientific classification. The poets of Japan strive to express 
the most comprehensive ideas in the fewest possible words, and 
to employ words with double meanings for the sake of tj^pical 
allusions. They also delight in descriptions or similes furnished 
by the scenery, or the rich variety of natural productions with 
which they are surrounded. 

Of their older books on science none are of any value but those 
which treat of astronomy. The proof of their progress in this 
scienc^ is afforded by the fact that almanacs, which were at first 
brought from China, have now become very general and are com- 
posed in Japan. The Japanese, until western education began 
to have its influence over them, had only a slight knowledge of 
mathematics, trigonometry, mechanics, or engineering. History 
and geography are very fairly cultivated. Reading is the favorite 
recreation of both sexes in Japan. The women confine them- 
selves to the perusal of romances, and those works on etiquette 
and kindred subjects prepared for them. Every young girl who 
can afford it has her subscription to a library, which for the sum 
of a few copper coins per month furnishes her with as many 
books, ancient and modern, as she can devour. Except for their 
titles, these productions seem all formed on one pattern. In the 
choice of their characters and their subjects the authors seem by 



SHINTO. 



311 



no means desirous of breaking through the narrow limits within 
which prejudice and custom have confined them. 

The ancient religion of the Japanese is called " Kami no 
michi," way, or doctrine of the gods. The Chinese form of the 
same is Shinto, and from this foreigners have called it Shintoism. 
In its purity the chief characteristic of this religion is the worship 
of ancestors and the deifi- 
cation of emperors, heroes, 
and scholars. The adora- 
tion of the personified 
forces of nature enters 
largely into it. It employs 
no idols, images, or effigies 
in its worship, and teaches 
no doctrine of the immor- 
tality of the soul. Shinto 
has no moral code, and no 
accurately defined system 
of ethics or belief. The 
leading principle of its 
adherents is imitation of 
the illustrious deeds of 
their ancestors, and they 
are to prove themselves 
worthy of their descent by 
the purity of their lives. 
The priests of Shinto are 
designated according to 
their rank. Sometimes 
they receive titles from 
the emperor, and the 
higher ranks of the priest- 
hood are court nobles. 
Ordinarily they dress like other people, but are robed in white 
when officiating, or in court dress when in court. They marry, 
rear families, and do not shave their heads. The office is usually 
hereditary. 

After all the research of foreign scholars, many hesitate to de- 




SHINTO PRIEST. 



312 BUDDHISM IN JAPAN. 

cide whether Shinto is a native Japanese product or whether it 
is not closel}^ allied with the ancient religion of China which ex- 
isted before the jjeriod of Confucius. The weight of opinion in- 
clines to the latter belief. The Kojiki is the Bible of Shintoism. 
It is full of narrations, but it lays down no precepts, teaches no 
morals or doctrines, prescribes no ritual. Shinto has very few of 
the characteristics of a religion as understood by us. The most 
learned native commentators and exponents of the faith expressl}' 
maintain the view that Shinto has no moral code. Motoori, the 
great modern revivalist of Shinto, teaches with emphasis that 
morals weve invented by the Chinese because they were an im- 
moral people, but in Japan there was no necessity for any system 
of morals, as every Japanese acted aright if he only consulted his 
own heart. The duty of a good Japanese, he says, consists in 
obeying the commands of the mikado without questioning whether 
these commands are right or wrong. It was only immoral people 
like the Chinese who presumed to discuss the character of their 
sovereign. The opinion of most scholars from America and 
Europe, studying Shinto on its own soil, has been that the faith 
was little more than an influence for reducing the people to a 
condition of mental slavery. Its influence is weakening every 
year. 

The outlines of Buddhism in its Chinese forms have been indi- 
cated ill a foregoing chapter. It is well, however, to take an- 
other glance at it here in connection with its Japanese signifi- 
cance. This religion reached the Japanese empire about the 
middle of the sixth century after Christ, twelve centuries after 
its establishment. Buddhism originated as a pure atheistic 
humanitarianism, with a lofty philosophy and a code of morals 
higher perhaps than any heathen religion had reached before or 
has since attained. First preached in India, a land accursed by 
secular and spiritual oppression, it acknowledged no caste and 
declared all men equally sinful and miserable, and all equally 
capable of being freed from sin and misery through knowledge. 
It taught that the souls of all men had lived in a previous state 
of existence and that all the sorrows of this life are punishments 
for sins committed in a previous state. After death the soul 
must migrate for ages through stages of life inferior or superior, 



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ATHEISTIC TENDENCIES. 315 

until perchance it arrived at last in Nirvana or absorption in 
Buddha. The true estate of the human soul, according to the 
Buddhist, was blissful annihilation. 

The morals of Buddhism are superior to its metaphysics. Its 
commandments are the dictates of the most refined morality. 
Such was Buddliism in its early purit}'. Beside its moral code 
and philosophical doctrines it had almost nothing. But in the 
twelve centuries which passed while it swept through India, 
Birmah, Siam, China, Thibet, Manchooria, Corea, and Siberia, 
it acquired the apparel with which Asiatic imagination and 
priestly necessity had clothed and adorned the original doctrines 
of Buddha. The ideas of Buddha had been expanded into a 
complete theological system, with all the appurtenances of a stock 
religion. Japan was ready for the introduction of any religion 
as attractive as Buddhism, for prior to that time nothing existed 
except Shinto, of which there was little but the dogma of the 
divinity of the mikado, the duty of all Japanese to obey him im- 
plicitly, and some Confucian morals. 

Buddliism came to touch the heart, to fire the imagination, to 
feed the intellect, to offer a code of lofty morals, to point out a 
pure life through self-denial, to awe the ignorant, and to terrify 
the doubting. With this explanation of the field which Buddhism 
found and what it offered, it is sufficient to say that the faith 
spread with marvelous rapidity until the Japanese empire was a 
Buddhist land. This did not necessarily exclude Shinto from the 
minds of the same peo[)le, and the two faiths have existed side by 
side in harmony. Of late years, however, the Japanese have not 
only been losing faith in their own religions but in all others, and 
to-day they are said by many to form a nation of atheists. This 
does not apply to the common people so truly as to the edu- 
cated ones, and of course is not nearly as general a truth as has 
been often assumed. In no country of Asia has Christianity made 
such rapid and permanent advance as in Japan. It is the only 
oriental country having a government of its own in which there is 
absolute freedom in religious belief and practice, and in which 
there is no state religion and no state support. 

It has been for years the prophetic declaration of missionaries 
ia the east that the first nation to extend full liberty of conscience 



316 



CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN. 



in religion would be the dominant power of Asia. That Japan 
has fulfilled thi.^ condition is not more remarkable than are her 
rapid strides to political power since that country opened its doors 
to Christianity. That Japan is sincere in its treatment of an 
alien religion is attested by the fact that native Christian chap- 
lains accompauy her armies in their marches against China, and 
these are representative men of the Methodist, Congregational, 




STREET SCENES. — From a Japanese Album. 

and Presbyterian churches in Japan. There is no doubt that the 
whole Christian element in Japan, foreign and native, has been 
loyal to the country and in thorough sympathy with the aggressive 
movement made by Japan. The sympathy between Corea and 
Japan has been greatly strengthened by the active support 
rendered Presbyterian missionaries in Corea by the whole Chris- 
tian body in Japan. The work of Mr. Johnson, a Presbyterian 



THE AINOS. 317 

missionary in Corea, made him an adviser of the king, and this 
assisted in leading the latter rather towards Japan than towards 
China. The corner stone of Japan's position to-day is religious 
toleration. All that the Christian missionaries have asked in Asia 
is equal privilege with other religions, and these they have had in 
Japan. History is only repeating itself, and the results of re- 
ligious toleration in Europe centuries ago are being duplicated in 
Asia in 1895. 

The student of Asiatic life, on coming to Japan, is cheered and 
pleased on contrasting the position of women in Japan with that 
in other countries. He sees them treated with respect and con- 
sideration far above that observed in other quarters of the Orient. 
They are allowed greater freedom, and hence have more dignity 
and self-confidence. The daughters are better educated and the 
national annals will show probably as large a number of illustrious 
women as those of any other country in Asia. In these last days 
of enlightenment public and private schools for girls are being 
opened and attended. Furthermore, some of the leaders of new 
Japan, braviug public scandal, and learning to bestow that 
measure of honor upon their wives which they see is enthusiastic- 
ally awarded by foreigners to theirs, and are not ashamed to be 
seen in public with them. No women excel the Japanese in that 
innate love of beauty, order, neatness, household adornment and 
management, and the amenities of dress and etiquette as pre- 
scribed by their own standard. In maternal affection, tenderness, 
anxiety, patience, and long suffering, the Japanese mothers need 
fear no comparison with ' those in other climes. As educators of 
their children, the Japanese women are peers to the mothers of 
any civilization in the care and minuteness of their training, and 
their affectionate tenderness and self-sacrificing devotion within 
the limits of their knowledge. The Japanese maiden is bright, 
intelligent, interesting, modest, ladylike, and self-reliant. What 
the American girl is in Europe the Japanese maiden is among 
Asiatics. 

So far our attention has been devoted exclusively to the 
Japanese proper, that is, to those people inhabiting Hondo and 
the other islands to the south of it. But a few words remain to 
be said about a people, who, while forming part of the empire of 



318 SURVIVING ABORIGINES. 

Japan, yet differ essentially from tlie great ninjority of the popu- 
lation. They are the Ainos, or the original inhabitants of the 
Japanese archipelago, now only to be found in the island of 
Yesso. These people are decreasing in numbers year by year, 
and will soon be named with those extinct races of whom it is 
only known tliat they have once existed. The Ainos, however, 
have had their day of glory. In olden times, several centuries 
before our era, they were masters of all the north part of the 
island of Hondo, and their power equalled that of the Japanese ; 
but little by little their influence diminished, and they were 
driven before the Japanese, and finally confined to the island of 
Yesso. There the Japanese pursued them and a long war ensued, 
but finally reduced them to complete submission about the four- 
teenth century. Since then the state of servitude in which their 
conquerors have held them has been such as to stifle even the 
instinct of progress within them, so that in the nineteenth century 
they offer the image of a people hardly past its first infancy. 

The origin of the Ainos is unknown. They themselves are per- 
fectly ignorant of their own history, and they have no written 
documents existing which could throw light upon their past. It 
is most probable that they originallj^ came from the far interior 
of the Asiatic continent, for they beai- not the slightest resem- 
blance to any of their neighbors in the tribes scattered along the 
eastern coasts of the north of Asia. The Ainos are generally 
small, thick-set, and awkwardly formed ; they have wide fore- 
heads and black eyes, not sloping ; their skin is fair but sunburnt. 
Their distinguishing feature is their hairiness, and the}' never 
dress their heads or trim their beards. The little children have a 
bright, intelligent look, which, however, gradually wears away as 
they grow older. The dwellings are of the simplest construction, 
and only contain a few implements for hunting and fishing, and 
some cooking utensils. They are built in small groups or hamlets, 
never containing more than a hundred individuals. They are a 
gentle, kindl}^ hospitable, and even timid people. Fishing is 
their chief occupation, and hunting is another profitable pursuit. 
There is no sign of agriculture, nor is any breed of cattle to be 
found among these people. Dogs are utilized to draw their 
sledges in winter. Their organization is quite patriarchal. They 






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OUTLOOK FOR JAPAN. 



321 



have neither king, princes nor lords, but in every hamlet the 
affairs of the community are vested in the hands of the oldest and 
most influential member. Although the intelligence of the Ainos 
is very little developed, they evince great aptitude for knowledge 
and eagerly seize every opportunity for acquainting themselves 
with Japanese laws and customs. 

The London Times, in 1859, predicted that "The Chinaman 
would still be navigating the canals of his country in the crazy 




RATS AS RICE MERCHANTS. — FroTti a Japanese Album. 

old junks of his ancestors when the Japanese was skimming along 
his rivers in high pressure steamers, or flying across the country 
behind a locomotive." The railway is now in fact stretching its 
iron tracks in every direction over the islands; the telegraph 
spreads its web all over the country ; street car lines are in every 
city ; the printing press rattles merrily in every moderate sized 
country town ; and the Japanese who have always read much, 
now read ten times more than they ever did before. Technical 
16 



r / 



322 OUTLOOK FOR JAPAN. 

education of the higher kind is telling upon the people, and many 
works are now undertaken from which the authorities would have 
shrunk a few years ago as being impossible for them to grapple 
with. Original investigation in many lines has been pursued, and 
particularly in the study of earthquake phenomena has Japan 
given to the world results of extreme value. The influence of the 
modern scientific spirit is immense and ever growing. Western 
influence in its better nature is constantly on the increase. It 
appears to-day as if Japan were to be the civilizing influence in 
the east of Asia. 



'- k *•. 



COREA 



y^^. 




COREAN LANDSCAPE, 




RAW LEVIES FOR THE CHINESE ARMY 



HISTORICAIv SKETCH OF COREA, THE HERMIT 

NATION. 



Aboriginal Inhabitants of the Land— Founding the Kingdom of Cho-sen— The Era of the 
Three Kingdoms— Dependence on China and Japan— Period of Peace and Prosperity— Inva- 
sion of Corea by the Japanese in the Sixteenth •Century— Introduction of Christianity -The 
Modern History of Corea— Breaking down the Walls of Isolation— The French Expedition- 
American Relations with Corea— Ports Opened to Japanese Commerce— The Year of the 
Treaties— A Hermit Nation no Longer. 

Until recent years our knowledge of the remarkable country of 
Corea, known indeed to the general public by little more than its 
name, has been limited to the meagre and scanty information im- 
parted to us by Chinese and Japanese sources. After having 
been for several thousands of years the scene of sanguinary and 
murderous feuds between the various races and tribes who 
peopled the peninsula, and of the intrigues aud wars of conquest 
of its rapacious neighbors, Corea succeeded after its final union 
under the sway of one ruler, but with considerable loss of terri- 
tory, in driving back the invaders behind its present frontiers, en- 
forcing since that time with an iron rule, that policy of exclusion 
which effectually separated it from the whole outer world. Corea, 
though unknown even by name in Europe until the sixteenth cen- 
tury, was the subject of description by Arab geographers of the 
middle ages. The Arab merchants trading to Chinese ports 
crossed the Yellow Sea, visited the peninsula, and even settled 
there. The youths of Shinra, one the Corean states, sent by their 
sovereign to study the arts of war and peace at Nanking, the 
mediaeval capital of China, may often have seen and talked with 
the merchants of Bagdad and Damascus. 

As has been said, nearly all that the western world was able to 
learn about Corea until recent years, has been collected from 
Chinese and Japanese sources, which confine themselves mainly 
to the historical and political connection with these countries. 
The meagre early accounts owed to Europeans on this interesting 
subject, originate either from shipwrecked mariners who have 

(327) 



828 AVHENCE CAME THE COREANS. 

been cast upon the iiiliospitable shores of Corea and there been 
kept imprisoned for some time, or from navigators who have ex- 
tended their voyages of discovery to these distant seas and who 
have touched a few prominent points of the coast. 

Like almost every country on earth, Corea is inhabited by a 
race that is not aboriginal. The present occupiers of the land 
drove out or conquered the people whom they found upon it. 
They are the descendants of a stock who came from beyond the 
northern frontier. It may not be a wrong conjecture, which is 
corroborated by many outward signs, to look for the origin of the 
people in Mongolia, in a tribe which finally settled down in 
Corea after roaming about and fighting its way through China. 
We may also take those who bear the unmistakable stamp of the 
Caucasian race to have come from Western Asia whence they 
had been driven by feuds and revolutions. At the conclusion of 
the long wars which have at last led to the union of the different 
states founded by various tribes, a partial fusion had taken place, 
which, though it has not succeeded in eradicating the outer signs 
of a different descent, at least caused the adoption of one language 
and of the same manners and customs. 

Most of the Coreans claim to be in complete darkness and 
ignorance of their own origin ; some declare quite seriously that 
their ancestors have sprung from a black cow on the shores of the 
Japan sea, while others ascribe their origin to a mysterious and 
supernatural cause. 

The first mention of the inhabitants of Corea we find in old 
Chinese chronicles about 2350 B. C, at which period some of the 
northern tribes are reported to have entered into a tributary con- 
nection with China. The first really reliable accounts, however, 
commence only with the twelfth century B. C, at which time 
the north-westerly part of the peninsula first stands out from the 
dark. 

The last Chinese emperor of the Shang dynasty was Chow Sin, 
who died B. C. 1122. He was an unscrupulous tyrant, and one 
of his nobles, Ki Tsze, rebuked and remonstrated with his sover- 
eign. His efforts were hopeless, and the nobles who joined him 
in protest were executed. Ki Tsze was cast into prison. A re- 
volt immediately ensued against the tyrant; he was defeated and 



FOUK"DING THE FIRST KINGDOM. 829 

killed, and the conqueror Wn Wang released the prisoner and 
appointed him prime minister. Ki Tsze however refused to serve 
one whom he believed to be an usurper and exiled himself to 
the regions lying to the north-east. With him v/ent several 
thousand Chinese immigrants, most the remnant of the defeated 
army, who made him their king. Ki Tsze reigned many years 
and left the newly founded state in peace and prosperity to his 
successors. He policed the borders, gave laws to his subjects, 
and gradually introduced the principles and practices of Chinese 
etiquette and polity throughout his domain. Previous to his time 
the people lived in caves and holes in the ground, dressed in 
leaves, and were destitute of manners, morals, agriculture and 
cooking. The Japanese pronounce the founder's name Kishi, and 
the Coreans Kei-tsa or Kysse. The name conferred by the civ- 
ilizer upon his new domain was that now in use by the modern 
Coreans, " Cho-sen," or "Morning Calm." 

The descendants of Ki Tsze are said to have ruled the country 
until the fourth century before the Christian era. Their names 
and deeds are alike unknown, but it is stated that there were 
forty-one generations, making a blood line of eleven hundred 
and thirty-one years. The line came to an end in 9 A. D., though 
they had lost power long before that time. 

This early portion of Cho-sen did not contain all of the territory 
of the modern Corea, but only the north-western portion of it. 
While the petty kingdoms of China were warring among one 
another, the nearest to Cho-sen encroached upon it and finally 
seized the colony. This was not to be permanent however, and 
there ensued a series of wars, each force becoming alternately suc- 
cessful. The territory of Cho-sen grew in area and the kingdom 
increased in wealth, power and intelligence under the rule of King 
Wie-man, who assumed the authority 194 B. C. Thousands of 
Chinese gentry fleeing before the conquering arms of the Han 
usurpers settled within the limits of the new kingdom, adding 
greatly to its prosperity. In 107 B. C, after a war that had 
lasted one year, a Chinese invading army finally conquered the 
kingdom of Cho-sen and annexed it to the Chinese empire. The 
conquered territory included the north half of the present kingdom 
of Corea. 



330 THE ERA OF THE THREE KINGDOMS. 

Things remained in this condition until about 30 B. C.,at which 
time a part of Cho-sen taking advantage of the disorders which 
had broken out afresh in China, separated itself from the empire 
and again formed a state by itself, but still remained tributary ; 
while the other portions of the old kingdom for some time longer 
remained under Chinese rule, until they also joined tlie portion 
that had been freed. Up to this period Cho-sen forming the 
north-west of the present Corea, had been the only part of that 
country that had become more closely connected with China. 
The tracts to the north-east, south-west and south were occupied 
by different independent tribes, and little more is known of them 
than that they were ruled by chiefs of their own clan. In course 
of time three kingdoms, Korai, Hiaksai, and Shinra, were formed 
out of these various elements, subsisting by the side of Cho-sen, 
at a later date fighting either beside or against China, and almost 
incessantly at feud with each other, until Shinra gained the pre- 
dominance about the middle of the eighth century A. D. and kept 
the same up to the sixteenth century. It was then supplanted in 
the leading position by Korai, which united under its supremacy 
all those parts of Corea which had hitherto been separate, and 
constituted the whole into a single state. Like the three 
kingdoms of England, Scotland and Wales, these Corean states 
were distinct in origin, were conquered by a race from without, 
received a rich infusion of alien blood, struggled in rivalry for 
centuries, and were finally united under one nation with one flag 
and one sovereign. 

Hiaksai was for a while the leading state in the peninsula. 
Buddhism was introduced from Thibet in 384 A. D. And to tliis 
state more than any other part of Corea, Japan owes her first 
impulses towards the civilization of the west. The kingdom pros- 
pered until the decade from 660 to 670, when it was overrun and 
practically annihilated by an army of Chinese, despite the aid of 
four hundred junks and a large body of soldiers sent from Japan 
to tlie aidof Corea. 

Korai of course took its turn in struggling with the Dragon of 
China. Early in the seventh century China had been defeated, 
and for a generation peace prevailed. But the Chinese coveted 
Koraian territory and again an invading fleet attacked the country. 



COREA'S GIFT TO JAPAN. 331 

It took years to complete the conquest, but finally all Korai with 
its five provinces, its one and seventy-six cities and its four or 
five millions of people, was annexed to the Chinese empire. 

Shinra, in the south-west of the peninsula, was probably the 
most advanced of all of the states. It was from this kingdom 
that the tradition reached Japan which tempted the Amazonian 
queen of Japan, Jingo, to her invasion and conquest. The king 
of Shinra submitted and became a declared vassal of Japan, but in 
all probability Shinra was far superior to the Japan of that early 
day in everything except strength. From this kingdom came a 
stream of immigrants which passed into Japan carrying all sorts of 
knowledge and an improved civilization. It is well to remember 
from this point that the Japanese always laid claim to the Corean 
peninsula and to Shinra especially as a tributary nation. They 
supported that claim not only whenever embassies from the two 
nations met at the court of China, but they made it a more or less 
active part of their national policy. 

During this period Buddhism was being steadily propagated, 
learning and literary progress increased, while art, science, archi- 
tecture were all favored and improved. Kion-chiu, the capital of 
Shinra, was looked upon as a holy city, even after the decay of 
Shinra's power. Her noble temples, halls and towers stood in 
honor and repair, enshrining the treasures of India, Persia, and 
China, until the ruthless Japanese torch laid them in ashes in 
1596. 

From the year 755 A. D. up to the beginning of the tenth cen- 
tury, Shinra maintained its undisputed rule over the other 
countries of the peninsula, but about this time successive revolts 
occurred, Shinra was conquered, and the three kingdoms now 
united were called Korai, a name which was retained to the end 
of the fourteenth century. The kingdoms now thoroughly sub- 
dued, never recovered their old position and independence, and 
composed from that time forward the undivided kingdom of 
Corea, such as it has been maintained until the present day. In 
1218 A. D. the king of Corea promised allegiance to the Chinese 
emperor Taitsou who was the Mongol Genghis Khan. 

Here we find explanation for some features of the war now in 
progress between China and Japan. Corea has at various times 



8312 COREA'S VASSALAGE TO JAPAN AND CHINA. 

acknowledged its dependence upon both of these countries. The 
Japanese laid claim to Corea from the second century until the 
27th of February, 1876. On that day the mikado's minister 
plenipotentiary signed the treaty recognizing Cho-sen as an 
independent nation. Through all the seventeen centuries, which 
according to their annals elapsed since their armies first com- 
pleted the vassalage of their neighbor, the Japanese regarded the 
states of Corea as tributaries. Time and again they enforced 
their claim with bloody invasion, and when through a more 
enlightened policy the rulers voluntarily acknowledged their 
former enemy as an equal, the decision cost Japan almost im- 
mediately afterward seven months of civil war, twenty thousand 
lives, and $50,000,000 in treasury. The mainspring of the 
" Satsuma rebellion " of 1877 was the official act of friendship by 
treat}^ and the refusal of the Tokio government to make war on 
Corea. It seemed until 1877 almost impossible to eradicate from 
the military mind of Japan the conviction that to surrender 
Corea was cowardice and a stain upon the national honor. 

From the ninth century onward to the sixteenth century, 
the relations of the two countries seem to be unimportant. 
Japan was engaged in conquering northward her own barbarians. 
Her intercourse, both political and religious, grew to be so 
direct with the court of China, that Corea in the Japanese annals 
sinks out of sight except at rare intervals. Nihon increased in 
wealth and civilization, while Cho-sen remained stationary or 
retrograded. In the nineteenth century the awakened "Sunrise 
Kingdom " has seen her former self in the " Land of Morning 
Calm," and has stretched forth willing hands to do for her 
neighbor now what Corea did for Japan in centuries long gone 
by. It must never be forgotten that Corea was the bridge on 
which civilization crossed from China to the archipelago. 

About 1368 the reigning King of Corea refused vassalage to 
China. His troops refused to repel the invasion that threat- 
ened, and under their General Ni Taijo, deposed the king. 
Taijo himself was nominated king. He paid homage to the 
Chinese emperor and revived the ancient name of Cho-sen. The 
dynasty thus established is still the reigning family in Corea, 
though the direct line came to an end in 1864. The Coreans in 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRESENT COREAN DYNASTY. 838 

their treaty with Japan in 1876, dated the document according 
to the four hundred and eighty-fourth year of Cho-sen, reckoning 
from the accession of Ni Taijo to the throne. One of the first 
acts of tlie new dynasty was to change the location of the 
national capital to the city of Han Yang, situated on the Han 
river about fifty miles from its mouth. The king enlarged the 
fortifications, enclosed the city with a wall of masonry, and built 
bridges, renaming the city Seoul or "capital." He also redivided 




:3>^^^^/^a^ 



PAGODA AT SEOUL. 

the kingdom into eight provinces which still remain. An era of 
peace and flourishing prosperity ensued, and in everything the 
influence of the Chinese emperors is most manifest. Buddhism, 
which had penetrated into every part of the country, and had 
become in a measure at least the religion of the state, was now 
set aside and disestablished. The Confucian ethics were dilli- 
gently studied and were incorporated into the religion of the 
state. From the early part of the fifteenth century, Confucian- 
ism flourished, until it reached the point of bigotry and intoler- 
ance, so that when Christianity was discovered to be existing 
among the people, it was put under the ban of extirpation, and 
its followers thought worthy of death. 

At first the new dynasty sent tribute regularly to the shogun 
of Japan, but as intestinal war troubled the Island Empire and 



334 



JAPAN'S GREAT INVASION OF COREA. 



the shoguns became effeminate, the Coreans stopped their 
tribute and it was almost forgotten. The last embassy from 
Seoul was sent in 1460. After that they were never summoned, 
so they never came. Under the idea that peace was to last 
forever, the nation relaxed all vigilance ; the army was dis- 
organized and the castles were fallen into ruin. It was while the 
country was in such a condition that the summons of Japan's 
great conqueror came to them, and the Coreans learned for the 
first time of the fall of Ashikaga and the temper of their new 
master. 

As the Mongol conquerors issuing from China had used Corea 

as their point of departure to invade 
Japan, so Hideyoshi resolved to make 
the peninsula the road for his armies 
into China. He sent an envoy to 
Seoul to demand tribute, and then, 
angered at the utter failure of his mis- 
sion, commanded the envoy and all his 
family to be put to death. A second 
||, ambassador was sent with more success, 
and presents and envoys were ex- 
changed. Hideyoshi, however, became 
enraged at the indifference of the 
Coreans to assist him in his dealings 
with China, and resolved to humble the 
peninsular kingdom, and China, her overlord. 

The invasion of Corea was made as related in the earlier 
chapters on Japan. The Coreans were poorly prepared for war, 
both as to leaders, soldiers, equipments and fortifications. The 
Japanese swept everything like a whirlwind before them, and 
entered the capital within eighteen days after their landing at 
Fusan. The accounts of the war are preserved in detail, and are 
exceedingly interesting, but the limits of this volume compel 
their omission to provide space for the war of 1894-5. At first 
Chinese armies coming to reinforce the Coreans were defeated 
and turned back, but another effort of the allies was more effec- 
tive and the Japanese troops found advance turned to retreat. 
The Japanese armies concentrated at Seoul to receive the ad- 




COREAN SOLDIERS. 



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CHRISTIAN CHAPLAINS WITH THE ARMY. 



337 



vance of the allies numbering some two hundred thousand. The 
capital was burned by the Japanese, neariy every house being 
destroyed, and hundreds of men, women, and children, sick and 
well, living quietly there, were massacred. The allied troops 
were beaten back in a ferocious battle, but hunger reached both 
armies, pestilence entered the Japanese camp, and both sides 
were utterly tired of war and ready to consider terms of peace. 
Konishi, the general of the 



Japanese army, had been con- 
verted to Christianity by the 
Portuguese Jesuits. During 
this period of tiresome wait- 
ing he sent to the superior 
of the missions in Japan ask- 
ing for a priest. In response 
to this request came Father 
Gregorio de Cespedes and a 
Japanese convert. These 
two holy men began their 
labors among the Japanese 
armies, preaching from camp 
to camp, and administering 
the right of baptism to thou- 
sands of converts, but their 
work was stopped by the 
jealousy of the Buddhist 
power. The Jesuits in Japan 
were then being expelled for 
their political machinations, 
and the chaplains in Corea 
were brought under the same 
ban. Konishi was called 
back to Japan with the priest and was unable to convince the 
shogun of his innocence. A few Corean converts were made 
during this time, and one of them a lad of rank, was afterward 
educated in the Jesuit seminary at Kioto. He endeavored to 
return to Corea as a missionary, but the condition of affairs in 
Japan interrupted his intentions and in 1625 he was martjred 




^^ JC^^nf]'^'^^ 



OLD MAN IN COREA. 



338 CHRISTIAN CHAPLAINS WITH THE ARMY. 

during the prosecutions of the Christians. Of the large number 
of Corean prisoners sent over to Japan, many became Christians. 
Hundreds of others were sold ^as slaves to the Portuguese. 
Others rose to positions of honor under the government or in the 
households of the daimios. Many Corean lads were adopted by 
the returned soldiers or kept as servants. When the bloody per- 
secution broke out, by which many thousand Japanese found 
death, the Corean converts remained steadfast to their Christian 
faith, and suffered martyrdom with fortitude equal to that of 
their Japanese brethren. But by the army in Corea, or by the 
Christian chaplain Cespedes, no trace of Christianity wa3 left in 
the land of Morning Calm, and it was two centuries later before 
that faith was really introduced. 

The fortunes of the war alternated, and finally, after deeds of 
heroism on both sides, a period of inaction ensued, the result of 
exhaustion. At this time Hideyoshi fell sick and died, September 
9, 1598, at the age of sixty-three years. Almost his last words 
were, "Recall all my troops from Cho-sen.'' The orders to em- 
bark for home were everywhere gladly heard. It is probable 
that the loss of life in the campaigns of this war was nearly a 
third of a million. Thus ended one of the most needless, unpro- 
voked, cruel, and desolating wars that ever cursed Corea. More 
than two hundred thousand human bodies were decapitated to 
furnish the ghastly material for the *' ear-tomb " mound in Kioto. 
More than one hundred and eighty-five thousand Corean heads 
were gathered for mutilation, and thirty thousand Chinese, all of 
which were despoiled of ears and noses. It is probable that fifty 
thousand Japanese left their bones in Corea. 

Since the invasion the town of Fusan, as before, had been held 
and garrisoned by the retainers of the Daimio of Tsushima. At 
this port all the commerce between the two nations took place. 
From an American point of view, there was little trade done be- 
tween the two countries, but on the strength of even this small 
amount Earl Russell in 1862 tried to get Great Britain included 
as a co-trader between Japan and Corea. He was not, however, 
successful. A house was built at Nagasaki by the Japanese gov- 
ernment which was intended as a refuge for Coreans who might 
be wrecked on Japanese shores. Wherever the waifs were picked 



ADVANCE OF THE MANCHOOS. 339 

up, they were sent to Nagasaki and sheltered until a junk could 
be dispatched to Fusan. 

The possession of Fusan by the Japanese was, until 1876, a 
perpetual witness of the humiliating defeat of the Coreans in the 
war of 1592-1597, and a constant irritation to their national 
pride. Yet with all the miseries inflicted on her, the humble 
nation learned rich lessons, and gained many an advantage even 
from her enemy. The embassies which were yearly dispatched 
to yield homage to their late invaders were at the expense of the 
latter. The Japanese pride purchased the empty bubble of hom- 
age by paying all the bills. 

The home of the Manchoos was on the north side of the Ever- 
white mountains. From beyond these mountains was to roll 
upon China and Corea another avalanche of invasion. By the 
sixteenth century the Manchoos had become so strong that they 
openly defied the Chinese. Formidable expeditions previous to 
the Japanese invasion of Corea kept them at bay for a time, but 
the immense expenditure of life and treasure required to fight 
the Japanese drained the resources of the Ming emperors, while 
their attention being drawn away from the north, the Manchoo 
hordes massed their forces and grew daily in strength. To re- 
press the rising power in the north, and to smother the life of the 
young nation, the Peking government resorted to barbarous 
cruelties and stern coercion. Unable to protect the eastern bor- 
der of Liao Tung the entire population of three hundred thou, 
sand souls, dwelling in four cities and many villages, were re- 
moved westward and resettled on new lands. Fortresses were 
planned in the deserted land to keep back the restless cavalry 
raiders from the north. Thus the foundation of the neutral strip 
of fifty miles was unconsciously laid, and ten thousand square 
miles of fair and fertile land west of the Yalu were abandoned to 
the wolf and tiger. What it soon became it remained until yes- 
terday — a howling wilderness. 

In 1615 the king of the Manchoo tribes was assassinated as the 
result of a plot by the Ming emperor. This exasperated the 
tribes to vengeance and they began hostilities. China now had 
to face another great invasion. Calling on her vassal, Corea, to 
send an army of twenty thousand men, she ordered them to join 



340 COREAN TREACHERY. 

the imperial army about seventy miles west of the Yalu River. 
In the battle which ensued the Coreans were the first to face the 
Manchoos. The imperial legions were beaten, and the Coreans 
seeing which way the victory wonld turn, deserted from the 
Chinese side to that of their enemy. This was in 1619. Enraged 
by alternate treachery to both sides from the Coreans, the Man- 
choos invaded Corea in 1627, to which time the war had been 
prolonged. They crossed the frozen Yalu in February, and at 
once attacked and defeated the Chinese army. They then began 
the march to Seoul. Town after town was taken as they pressed 
onward to the capital, the Coreans everywhere flying before 
them. Thousands of dwellings and stores of provisions were 
given to the flames and their trail was one of blood and ashes. 
After the siege of Seoul began, the king sent tribute offerings to 
the invaders, and concluded a treaty of peace, by which Corea 
again exchanged masters, this time confessing subjection to the 
Manchoo sovereign. As soon as the invading army had with- 
drawn, the Corean king, confident that the Chinese would be 
ultimately successful over the Manchoos, annulled the treaty. 
No sooner were the Manchoos able to spare their forces for the 
purpose than they again marched into Corea and overran the 
peninsula. 

The king now came to terms, and in February, 1637, utterly 
renounced his allegiance to the Ming emperor, gave his two sons 
as hostages, and promised to send an annual embassy with tribute 
to the Manchoo court. After the evacuation of Corea the victors 
marched into China, where bloody civil war was raging. The 
imperial army of China had been beaten by the rebels. The 
Manchoos joined their forces with the imperialists and defeated 
the rebels, and then demanded the price of their victory. Enter- 
ing Peking they proclaimed the downfall of the house of Ming. 
The son of the late king was set upon the dragon throne, and as 
we have seen in a foregoing chapter the royal house of China 
came to be a Manchoo family. 

When, as it happened the very next year, the shogun of Japan 
demanded an increase of tribute to be paid in Yeddo, the court of 
Seoul plead in excuse their wasted resources, consequent upon 
the war with the Manchoos, and their heavy burdens newly laid 



n 

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c: 
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o 




TRIBUTE TO TWO NEIGHBORS. 343 

upon them in the way of tribute to their conqueror. Their excuse 
was accepted. Twice within a single generation had the little 
peninsula been devasted by mighty invasion that laid waste the 
country. 

In 1650 a captive Corean maid, taken prisoner in their first 
invasion, became sixth lady in rank in the imperial Manchoo 
household. Through her influence her father, the ambassador, 
obtained a considerable reduction of the annual tribute that had 
been fixed by treaty. Other portions of the tribute had been re- 
mitted before, so that by this time the tax upon Corean loyalty 
became very slight, and the embassy became one of ceremony 
rather than a tribute bringing. 

In the seventeenth century some information about Corea 
began to reach Europe, first from the Jesuits in Peking, who sent 
home a map of the peninsula. There is also a map of Corea in a 
work by the Jesuit Martini, published in 1649 in Amsterdam. 
The Cossacks who overran northern Asia brought reports of 
Corea to Russia, and it was from Russian sources that Sir John 
Campbell obtained the substance of his history of Corea. In 1645 
a party of Japanese crossed the peninsula, and one of them on his 
return wrote a book descriptive of their journey. 1707 tlie 
Jesuits in Peking began their great geographical enterprise, the 
survey of the Chinese empire, including the outlying vassal 
kingdoms. A map of Corea was obtained from the king's palace 
at Seoul and sent to Europe to be engraved and printed. From 
this original most of the maps and supposed Corean names in 
books published since that time have been copied. 

The first known entrance of any number of Europeans into 
Corea was that of Hollanders belonging to th6 crew of the Dutch 
ship Hollandra which was driven ashore in 1627. Coasting along 
the Corean shores, John Wetterree and some companions went 
ashore to get water, and were captured by the natives. The 
magnates of Seoul probably desired to have a barbarian from the 
west, as useful to them as was the Englishman Will Adams to the 
Japanese in Yeddo, where the Corean ambassadors had often seen 
him. This explains why Wetterree was treated with kindness 
and comparative honor, though kept as a prisoner. When the 
Manchoos invaded Corea in 1635, his two companions were killed 
17 



844 FIRST EUROPEANS IN COREA. 

in the war, and Wetterree was left alone. Having no one with 
whom he could converse he had almost forgotten his native 
speech, when after twenty-seven years of exile, in the fifty-ninth 
year of his age, he met some of his fellow Hollanders, and acted 
as interpreter to the Coreans. 

In the summer of 1653 the Dutch ship Sparwehr was cast on 
shore on Quelpaert island, off the southwest coast of Corea. The 
local magistrate did what he could for the thirty-six members 
of the crew who reached the shore alive, out of the sixty-four on 
board. On October 29th the survivors were brought by the 
officials to be examined by the interpreter Wetterree. The latter 
was very rusty in his native language, but regained it in a month. 
Of course the first and last idea of the captives was how to escape. 
They made one effort to reach the sea shore, but were caught and 
severely punished, after which they were ordered to proceed to 
the capital. Wherever they went the Dutchmen were like wild 
beasts on exhibition. When they once reached the palace they 
were well treated, and were assigned to the body guard of the 
king as petty officers. Each time that the Manchoo envoy made 
his visit to the capital the captives endeavored to enlist his sym- 
pathy and begged to be taken to Peking, but all such efforts re- 
sulted in failure and punishment. The suspicions of the govern- 
ment were aroused by the studies which the Dutchmen pursued, 
of the climate, the topography, and the products of the country, 
and by their attemps to escape, and in 1663 they were separated 
and put into three different towns. By this time fourteen of the 
number were dead and twenty-two remained. 

Finally, early in September 1667, as their fourteenth year of 
captivity was drawing to a close, the Dutchmen escaped to the 
seacoast, bribed a Corean to give them his fishing craft, and 
steered out into the open water. A few days later, they reached 
the northwestern islands in the vicinity of Kiushiu, Japan, and 
landed. The Japanese treated them kindly and sent them to 
Nagasaki, where they met their countrymen at Desima. The 
annual ship from Batavia was then just about to return, and in 
the nick of time the waifs got on board, reached Batavia, sailed 
for Holland, and in July, 1668, stepped ashore at home. Hendrik 
Hamel, the supercargo of the ship, wrote a book on his return re- 



CHRISTIANITY IN COREA. 345 

counting his adventures in a simple and straightforward style. It 
has been translated into English and is a model work of its sort. 

The modern introduction of Christianity in Corea dates little 
more than a hundred years ago. Some Corean students studying 
with the famous Confucian professor Kwem, during the winter of 
1777, entered into discussion of some tracts on philosophy, mathe- 
matics, and religion just brought from Peking. These were 
translations of the writings of the Jesuits in the imperial capital. 
Surprised and delighted, they resolved to attain if possible to a 
full understanding of the new doctrines. They sought all the in- 
formation that they could from Peking. The leader in this 
movement was a student named Stonewall. As his information 
accumulated, he gave himself up to fresh reading and meditation, 
and then began to preach. Some of his friends in the capital, 
both nobles and commoners, embraced the new doctrines with 
cheering promptness and were baptized. Thus from small be- 
ginnings, but rapidly, were the Christian ideas spread. 

But soon the power of the law and the pen were invoked to 
crush out the exotic faith. The first victim was tried on the 
charge of destroying his ancestral tablets, tortured, and sent into 
exile, in which he soon after died. The scholars now took up 
weapons, and in April, 1784, the king's preceptor issued the first 
public document officially directed against Christianity. In it all 
parents and relatives were entreated to break off all relations with 
Christians. The names of the leaders were published, and the 
example of Thomas Kim, the first victim, was cited. Forthwith 
began a violent pressure upon the believers to renounce their faith. 
Then began an exhibition alike of steadfast faith and shameful 
apostasy, but though even Stonewall lapsed, the work went on. 
The next few years of Christianity were important ones. The 
leaders formed an organization and as nearly as they could on the 
lines of the Roman Catholic church. Instructions were sent from 
Peking by the priests there, and the worship in Corea became quite 
in harmony with that of the Western church. But the decision 
that the worship of ancestors must be abolished, was, in the eyes 
of the Corean public, a blow at the framework of society and 
state, and many feeble adherents began to fall away. December 
8, 1791, Paul and Jacques Kim were decapitated for refusing to 



346 YEARS OF MARTYRDOM. 

recant their Christian faith. Thus was shed the first blood for 
Corean Christianity. Martyrdom was frequent in this early his- 
tory of the Christian church in Corea, but in the ten years following 
the baptism of Peter in Peking in 1783, in spite of persecution 
and apostasy, it is estimated that there were four thousand Chris- 
tians in the peninsula. 

The first attempt of a foreign missionary to enter the Hermit 
Kingdom from the west was made early in 1791. This was a 
Portuguese priest who endeavored to cross the Yalu River to join 
some native Christians, but was disappointed in meeting them and 
returned to Peking. Two years later a young Chinese priest en- 
tered the forbidden territory, and was hidden for three years in 
the house of a noble woman, where he preaclied and taught. 
Three native Christians who refused to reveal his whereabouts 
were tortured to death and were throv/n into the Han River. 
From the beginning of this century the most bitter general per- 
secutions against Christians was enforced. The young Chinese 
priest, learning that he was outlawed, surrendered himself to re- 
lieve his friends of the responsibility of protecting him, and was 
executed. The woman also who had so long sheltered him was 
beheaded. Four other women who were attendants in the palace, 
and an artist who was condemned for painting Christian subjects 
were beheaded near the " Little Western Gate " of Seoul. The 
policy of the government was shown in making away with the 
Christians of rank and education who might be able to direct af- 
fairs in the absence of the foreign priests, and in letting the poor 
and humble go free. 

It is impossible to catalogue the martyrs and the edicts against 
Christianity. The condition of the Christians scattered in the 
mountains and forests, suffering poverty, hunger, and cold, was 
most deplorable. In 1811 the Corean converts addressed letters 
to the Pope begging aid in their distress. These however could 
not be answered in the way they desired, for the Pope himself 
was then a prisoner at Fontainebleau and the Roman propaganda 
was nearly at a standstill. 

In 1817 the king and court were terrified by the appearance off 
the west coast of the British vessels Alceste and Lyra, but be- 
yond some surveys, purchases of provisions, and interviews with 




COREAN MANDARINS. 



MARTYRDOM OF FRENCH FRIESTS. 349 

some local iniigistiates, the foreigners departed without opening 
coninmnication with them. Ffteen years later the British ship 
Lord Amherst passed along the coasts of Chulla, seeking commer- 
cial connections. On board was a Protestant missionary, a Prus- 
sian. He landed on several of the islands and attempted to gain 
some acquaintance with the people, but made little progress. The 
year 1834 closed the first half century of Corean Christianity. 
It is not strange that persecutions resulted from the advance of 
Roman Catholic strength in Corea, for the Corean Christians as- 
sumed naturally the rigliteousness of the Pope's claim to tem- 
poral power as the vicar of heaven. The Corean Christians not 
only deceived their magistrates and violated their country's laws, 
but actually invited armed invasion. Hence, from the first, 
Christianity was associated in patriotic minds with treason and 
robbery. 

After the restoration of the Bourbons in France and the 
strengthening of the Papal throne by foreign bayonets, the mis- 
sionary zeal in the church was kindled afresh, and it was resolved 
to found a mission in Corea. The first priest to make entrance 
was Pierre Philibert Maubant, who reached Seoul in 1836, the 
first Frenchman who had penetrated the Hermit Nation. A few 
months later another joined him, and in December, 1838, Bishop 
Imbert ran the gauntlet of wilderness, ice, and guards at the 
frontier, and took up his residence under the shadow of the king's 
palace. Work now went on vigorously, and in 1838 the Chris- 
tians numbered nine thousand. At the beginning of the next 
year the party in favor of extirpating Christianity having gained 
the upper hand, another persecution broke out with redoubled 
violence. To stay the further shedding of blood. Bishop Imbert 
and his two priests came out of their hiding places and delivered 
themselves up. They were horribly tortured, and decapitated 
September 21, 1839. Six bitter years passed before the Christians 
again had a foreign pastor. 

Since 1839 the government had tripled its vigilance and 
doubled the guards on the frontier. The most strenuous efforts 
to pass the barriers repeatedly failed. Andrew Kim is a name to 
be remembered in the history of Christianity in Corea. Year 
after year he worked to enter Corea, or once in, to advance the 



350 MARTYRDOM OF FREK^CH PRIESTS. 

cause, or when rejected to help others in the work. He was or- 
dained to the priesthood in Shanghai, and finally in company with 
two French priests, in September, 1845, sailed across the Yellow 
Sea, and landed on the coast of Chulla, to make his final effort to 
spread Christianity among the Coreans. During July of the same 
year, the British ship Samarang was engaged in surveying off 
Quelpaert and the south coast of Corea. Beacon fires all over 
the land telegraphed the news of the presence of foreign ships, 
and the close watch that was kept by the coast magistrates made 
the return of Andrew Kim doubly dangerous. 

These records of perseverence, of distress, of martyrdom, from tlie 
pages of missionary work in Corea, written in the blood of native 
converts, who bore their cross with equal bravery to that of the Roman 
fathers, may be surprising to some who have been unfamiliar with the 
history of the Corean peninsula. But they are convincing testimony 
to controvert the assertions of some incredulous ones who affirm that 
the "heathen '^ are never really Christianized, but are always ready to 
return to their idols in times of trial. There is no country that can 
show braver examples of fortitude, in enduring trial for the support of 
the faith, than the " Hermit Nation." 

Three priests in disguise were now secretly at work in Corea, 
Andrew Kim, a native convert, and the Frenchmen, Bishop 
Ferreol, and his companion Daveluy. Kim was captured and in 
company with half a dozen others was executed September 16th. 
While he was in prison the Bishop heard of three French ships 
which were at that time vainly trying to find the mouth of the 
Han River and the channel to the capital. Ferreol wrote to 
Captain Cecile, who commanded the fleet, but the note arrived too 
late and Kim's fate was sealed. The object of the fleet's visit was 
to demand satisfaction for the murder of the two French priests in 
1839, but after some coast surveys were made and a threatening 
letter was dispatched the ships withdrew. 

During the summer of 1845, two French frigates set sail for the 
Corean coast, and August 10th went aground, and both vessels 
became total wrecks. The six hundred men made their camp at 
Kokun island, where they were kindly treated and furnished with 
provisions, although rigidly secluded and guarded against all 
communication with the main land. An English ship from 
Shanghai rescued the crews. During the ensuing eight years re- 



ALARM IN COREA. 351 

peated efforts were made by missionaries and native converts to 
enter Corea and advance the work there, and the labor of prop- 
agation progressed. A number of religious works in the Corean 
language were printed from a native printing press and widely 
circulated. In 1850 the Christians numbered eleven thousand, 
and five young men were studying for the priesthood. Regular 
mails sewn into the thick cotton coats of the men in the annual 
embassy were sent to and brought from China. The western 
nations were beginning to take an interest in the twin hermits of 
the east, Corea and Japan. In 1852, the Russian frigate Pallas 
traced and mapped a portion of the shore line of the east coast, 
and the work was continued three years later by the French war 
vessel Virginie. At the end of this voyage the whole coast from 
Fusan to the Tumen was known with some accuracy and mapped 
out with European names. 

It was in the intervening years, 1853 and 1854, that Commodore 
Perry and the American squadron were in the waters of the far 
east, driving the wedge of civilization into Japan. The American 
flag, however, was not yet seen in Corean waters, though the court 
of Seoul was kept informed of Perry's movements. 

A fresh reinforcement of missionaries reached Corea in 1857. 
When three years later the French and English forces opened war 
with China, took the Peiho forts, entered Peking, and sacked the 
summer palace of the Son of Heaven, driving the Chinese emperor 
to flight, the loss of Chinese prestige struck terror into all 
Corean hearts. For six centuries China had been in Corean eyes 
the synonym and symbol of invincible power. Copies of the 
treaties made between China and the allies, granting freedom of 
trade and religion, were soon read in Corea, causing intense 
alarm. But the most alarming thing was the treaty between 
China and Russia, by which the Manchoo rulers surrendered the 
great tract watered by the Amoor river and bordered by the 
Pacific, to Russia. It was a rich and fertile region, with a coast 
full of harbors, and comprising an area as large as France. The 
boundaries of Siberia now touch Corea. With France on the 
right, Russia on the left, China humbled, and Japan opened to 
the western world, it is not strange that the rulers in Seoul 
trembled. The results to Christianity were that within a few 



352 INTRIGUES IN THE COURT. 

years thousands of natives fled their country and settled in the 
Russian villages. At the capital, official business was suspended 
and many families of rank tied to the mountains. In many in- 
stances people of rank humbly sought the good favor and pro- 
tection of the Christians, hoping fur safety when the dreaded 
invasion should come. In the midst of these war preparations, the 
French missionary body was reinforced by the arrival of four of 
their countrymen who set foot on the soil of their martyrdom, 
October, 1861. 

The Ni dynasty, founded in 1392, came to an end January 15, 
1864, by the death of King Chul-chong, who had no child, before 
he had nominated an heir. Palace intrigues and excitement 
among the political parties followed. The widows of the three 
kings who had reigned since 1831 were still living. The eldest 
of these. Queen Cho, at once seized the royal seal and emblems of 
authority, which high-handed move made her the mistress of the 
situation. A twelve -year-old lad was nominated for the throne, 
and his father, Ni Kung, one of the royal princes, became the 
actual regent. He held the reins of government during the next 
nine years, ruling with power like that of an absolute despot. 
He was a rabid hater of Christianity, foreigners, and progress. 

The year 1866 is phenomenal in Corean history. It seemed 
to the rulers as if the governments of many nations had con- 
spired to pierce their walls of isolation. Russians, Fiench- 
men, Englishmen, Americans, Germans, authorized and un- 
authorized, landed to trade, rob, kill, or what was equally ob- 
noxious to the regent and his court, to make treaties. This and 
the rapid progress of Christianity now excited the anti-Christian 
party, which was in full power at the court, to clamor for the en- 
forcement of the old edict against the foreign religion. 

Vainly the regent warned the court of the danger from Europe. 
Forced by the party in power, he signed the death warrants of 
bishops and priests and promulgated anew the old laws against 
the Christians. Within a few weeks fourteen French priests and 
bishops were tortured to death, and twice as many native mis- 
sionaries and students for the priesthood suffered like fate. 
Scores of native Christians were put to death, and hundreds more 
were in prison. In a little over a month, all missionary operations 



FRENCH EXPEDITION TO SEOUL. 353 

came to a standstill. The three French priests who remained 
alive escaped from the peninsula in a Chinese junk, and finally 
reached Chefoo October 26. Not one foreign priest now remained 
in Corea, and no Christian dared openly confess his faith. Thus 
after twenty years of nearly uninterrupted labors, the church was 
again stripped of her pastors, and at the end of eighty-two years 
of Corean Christianity the curtain fell in blood. 

With Bishop Ridel as interpreter and three of his converts as 
pilots, three French vessels were sent to explore the Han River 
and to make effort to secure satisfaction for the murder of the 
French bishops and priests in the previous March. They entered 
the river September 21, and two of the vessels advanced to Seoul, 
leaving one at the mouth of the river. One or two forts fired on 
the vessels as they steamed along, and in one place a fleet of 
junks gathered to dispute their passage. A well-aimed shot sunk 
two of the crazy craft, and a bombshell dropped among the ar- 
tillerists in the redoubt, silenced it at once. On the evening of 
the 25th, the two ships cast anchor and the flag of France floated 
in front of the Corean capital. The hills were white with gazing 
thousands, who for the first time saw a vessel moving under steam. 
The ships remained abreast of the city several days, the officers 
taking soundings and measurements, computing heights, and mak- 
ing plans. Bishop Ridel went on shore in hopes of finding a 
Christian and hearing some news but none dared to approach 
him. While the French remained in the river not a bag of rice 
nor a fagot of wood entered Seoul. Eight days of such terror, 
and a famine would have raged in the city. Seven thousand 
houses were deserted by their occupants. When the ships re- 
turned to the mouth of the river two converts came on board. 
They informed Ridel of the burning of a '^ European" vessel, the 
General Sherman, at Ping-Yang, of the renewal of the persecu- 
tion, and of the order that Christians should be put to death with- 
out waiting for instructions from Seoul. Sailing away, tlie ships 
arrived at Chefoo, October 3. 

The regent, now thoroughly alarmed, began to stir up the 
country to defense. The military forces in every province were 
called out, and the forges and blacksmith shops were busy day 
and night in making arms of every known kind. Loaded junks 



354 REPULSE OF THE FRENCH. 

were sunk in the channel of the Han to obstruct it. Word was 
sent to the tycoon of Japan informing him of the trouble, and 
begging for assistance, but the Yeddo government had quite all it 
could do at that time to take care of itself. Instead of help two 
commissioners were appointed to go to Seoul and recommend that 
Corea open her ports to foreign commerce as Japan had done, and 
thus choose peace instead of war with foreigners. Before the 
envoys could leave Japan the tycoon had died, and the next year 
Japan was in the throes of civil war, the shogunate was abolished, 
and Corea was for the time utterly forgotten. 

Another fleet of French vessels sailed from China to Corea, 
consisting of seven ships of various kinds, and with six hundred 
soldiers. The force landed before the city of Kang-wa on the 
island of the same name, and captured the cit}^ without difficult}^ 
on the morning of October 16. Several engagements in the same 
vicinity followed, all of them successful to the French until they 
came to attack a fortified monastery on the island some ten da3's 
later. Here they were repulsed with heavy loss to themselves 
and to the foe. The next morning to the surprise of all and the 
anger of many, orders were given to embark. The troops in 
Kang-wa set fire to the city which in a few hours burned to ashes. 
The departure of the invaders was so precipitate that Corean 
patriots to this day gloat over it as a disgraceful retreat. 

In the palace at Seoul the resolve was made to exterminate 
Christianity, root and branch. Women and even children were 
ordered to the death. Several Christian nobles were executed. 
One Christian who was betrayed in the capital by his pagan 
brother, and another fellow believer, were taken to the river side 
in front of the city, near the place where the two French vessels 
had anchored. At this historic spot, by an innovation unknown 
in the customs of Cho-sen, they were decapitated and their head- 
less trunks held neck downward to spout out the hot life blood, 
that it might wash awa}^ the stain of foreign pollution. Upon the 
mind of the regent and court the effect was to swell their pride 
to the folly of extravagant conceit. Feeling themselves able 
almost to defy the world, they began soon after to hurl their de- 
fiance at Japan. The results of this expedition were disastrous 
all over the east. Happening at a time when relations between 



EFFECTS OF THE RETREAT. 355 

foreigners and Chinese were strained, the unexpected return of 
the fleet filled the minds of Europeans in China with alarm. 
The smothered embers of hostility to foreign influence, steadily 
gathered vigor as the report spread through China that the hated 
Frenchmen had been driven away by the Coreans. The fires at 
length broke out in the Tientsin massacre of 1870. 

It was this same year, 1866, that witnessed the marriage of the 
young king, now but fourteen years old, to Min, the daughter of 
one of the noble families. Popular report has always credited 
the young queen with abilities not inferior to those of her royal 
husband. The Min or Ming family is largely Chinese in blood 
and origin, and beside being preeminent among all the Corean 
nobility in social, political, and intellectual power, has been most 
strenuous in adherence to Chinese ideas and traditions with the 
purpose of keeping Corea unswerving in her vassalage and loyalty 
to China. 

American associations with Corea have been peculiarly interest- 
ing. The commerce carried on by American vessels with Chinese 
and Japanese ports made the navigation of Corean waters a ne- 
cessity. Sooner or later shipwiecks must occur, and the question 
of the humane treatment of American citizens cast on Corean 
shores came up before our government for settlement, as it had 
long before in the case of Japan. Within one year the Corean 
government had three American cases to deal with. June 24, 
1866, the American schooner Surprise, was wrecked off the coast 
of Wang-hai. The approach of any foreign vessel was especially 
dangerous at this time, as the crews might be mistaken for French- 
men and killed by the people from patriotic impulses. Neverthe- 
less, the captain and his crew, after being well catechised by the 
local magistrate and by a commissioner sent from Seoul, were 
kindly treated and well fed and provided with the comforts of 
life. By orders of Tai-wen Kun, the regent, they were escorted 
on horseback to Ai-chiu and after being feasted there were con- 
ducted safely to the border gate. Thence after a hard journey 
via Mukden they got to Niuchwang and to the United States 
consul. 

The General Sherman was an American schooner that had the 
second experience with the Coreans. The vessel was owned by 



356 AMERICAN AFFAIRS IN COREA. 

a Mr. Preston who was making a voyage for health. At Tien-tsiu 
the schooner was loaded with goods likely to be salable in Corea, 
and she was dispatched there on an experimental voyage in the 
hope of thus opening the country to commerce. The complement 
of the vessel was five white foreigners and nineteen Malay and 
Chinese sailors. The white men were Mr. Hogarth, a young 
Englishman, Mr. Preston, the owner, and Messrs. Page and 
Wilson, the master and mate of the vessel, and the Rev. Mr. 
Thomas, a missionary, who were Americans. From the first the 
character of the expedition was suspected, because the men were 
rather too heavily armed for a peaceful trading voyage. It was 
believed in China that the royal coffins in the tombs of Ping- Yang 
were of solid gold, and it was broadly hinted that the expedition 
had something to do with these. 

The schooner, whether merchant or invader, sailed from Chefoo 
and made for the mouth of the Tatong River. There they met the 
Chinese captain of a Chefoo junk who agreed to pilot them up 
the river. He stayed with the General Sherman for two daj^s, 
then leaving her he returned to the river's mouth, and sailed back 
to Chefoo. No further direct intelligence was ever received from 
the unfortunate party. According to one report the hatches of 
the schooner were fastened down after the crew had been driven 
beneath, and set on fire. According to another, all were de- 
capitated. The Coreans burned the woodwork for the iron and 
took the cannon for models. 

The United States steamship Wachusett, dispatched by Admiral 
Rowan to inquire into the matter^ reached Chefoo January 14, 
1867, and took on board the Chinese pilot of the General Sher- 
man. Leaving Chefoo they cast anchor two days later at the 
mouth of the large inlet next south of the Tatong River, thinking 
that they had reached their destination. A letter was dispatched 
to the capital of the province demanding that the murderers be 
produced on the deck of the vessel. Five days elapsed before the 
answer arrived, during which the surveying boats were busy. 
Many natives were met and spoken with, who all told one story, 
that the Sherman's crew were murdered by the people and not by 
official instigation. In a few days an officer from one of the 
villages appeared. He would give neither information nor satis- 



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THE GENERAL SHERMAN CASE. 359 

faction, and the gist of his reiteration was "go away as soon as 
possible." Commander Shufeldt, bound by his orders, could do 
nothing more, and being compelled also by stress of weather came 
away. 

Later in the year Dr. Williams, Secretary of the United States 
Legation at Peking, succeeded in obtaining an interview with a 
member of the Corean embassy, who told him that after the 
General Sherman got aground she careened over as the tide 
receded, and her crew landed to guard or float her. The natives 
gathered around them, and before long an altercation arose. A 
general attack began upon the foreigners, in which every man was 
killed by the mob. About twenty of the natives lost their lives. 
Dr. Williams' comment is, " The evidence goes to uphold the 
presumption that they invoked their sad fate by some rash or 
violent act towards the natives." 

The United States steamship Shenandoah was sent to make 
further investigation, and this version of the story was given to 
the commander. The Coreans said that when the Sherman 
arrived in the river, tlie local officials went on board and addressed 
the two foreign officers of the ship in respectful language. The 
latter grossly insulted the native dignitaries. The Coreans treated 
their visitors kindly, but warned them of their danger and the un- 
lawfulness of penetrating into the country. Nevertheless, the 
foreigners went up the river to Ping-Yang where they seized the 
ship of one of the city officials, put him in chains, and proceeded 
to rob the junks and their crews. The people of the city aroused 
to wrath, attacked the foreign ship with firearms and cannon ; 
they set adrift fire rafts and even made a hand to hand fight with 
knives and swords. The foreigners fought desperately, but the 
Coreans overpowered tliem. Finally the ship caught fire and 
blew up with a terrible report. This story was not, of course, 
believed by the American officers, but even the best wishers and 
friends of the Sherman adventurers cannot stifle suspicion of 
either cruelty or insult to the natives. Remembering the kind- 
ness shown to the crew of the Surprise it is difficult to believe 
that the General Sherman's crew was murdered without cause. 

In 1884 Lieutenant J. B. Bernadon, of the United States navy, 
made a journey from Seoul to Ping-Yang, and being able to speak 



360 AMERICAN EXPEDITIONS. 

Corean, secured the following information from native Christians: 
The governor of Ping-Yang sent officers to inquire the mission of 
the Sherman. To gratify their curiosity large numbers of the 
common people set out also in boats which the Sherman's crew 
mistook for a hostile demonstration and fired guns in the air to 
warn them off. When the river fell the Sherman grounded and 
careened over, which being seen from the city walls, a fleet of 
boats set out with hostile intent and were fired upon. Officers 
and people now enraged, started fire rafts, and soon the vessel, 
though with white flag hoisted, was in flames. Of those who 
leaped into the river most were drowned. Of those picked up one 
was the Rev. Mr. Thomas, who was able to talk Corean. He 
explained the meaning of the white flag, and begged to be sur- 
rendered to China. His prayer was in vain. In a few days all 
the prisoners were led out and publicly executed. 

In the spring of 1867 an expedition was organized by a French 
Jesuit priest who spoke Corean, having been a missionary in tlie 
country ; a German Jew named Ernest Oppert ; and the inter- 
preter at the United States consulate in Shanghai, a man named 
Jenkins. These worthies, it is said, conceived a plan to steal the 
body of one of the dead Corean monarchs, and hold it for ransom. 
With two steam vessels and a crew of sailors, laborers, and cool- 
ies, the riffraff of humanity, such as swarm in every Chinese 
port, they left Shanghai the last day of April, steamed to Naga- 
saki, and then to the west coast of Corea, landing in the river 
which flows into Prince Jerome Gulf. The steam tender which 
accompanied the larger vessel took an armed crowd up the river 
as far as possible, and from this point the march across the open 
country to the tomb was begun. Their tools were so ineffective 
that they could not move, the rocky slab which covered the sar- 
cophagus, and they were compelled to give up their task. Dur- 
ing their return march they were attacked by the exasperated 
Coreans, but were able to protect themselves without great diffi- 
culty. During the remainder of their buccaneering trip, which 
lasted ten days, they had various skirmishes and two or three of 
their party were killed. On their return to Shanghai the Amer- 
ican of the party was arrested and tried before the United States 
consul, but it was impossible to prove the things with which Jen- 



SEEKING A TREATY. 3GI 

kins was charged, and he was dismissed. A few years hiter Op- 
pert published a work in which he told the story of his different 
voyages to Corea, including this last one. In writing of the last 
he takes pains to gloss over the intentions of his journey and to 
explain the good motives behind it. 

The representations made to the department of state at Wash- 
ington by the United States diplomatic corps in China concerning 
these different attempts to enter Corea, directed the attention of 
the United States government to tlie opening of Corea to Ameri- 
can commerce. The state department in 1870 resolved to under- 
take the enterprise. Frederick F. Low, minister of the United 
States to Peking, and Rear Admiral John Rodgers, commander in 
chief of the Asiatic squadron, were entrusted with the delicate 
mission. The American squadron consisted of the flagship Colo- 
rado, the corvettes Alaska and Dimitia, and the gunboats Monoc- 
acy and Palos. In spite of the formidable appearance of the navy, 
the vessels were either of an antiquated type, or of too heav}^ a 
draft, with their armament defective. All the naval world in 
Chinese waters wondered why the Americans should be content 
with such old fashioned ships unworthy of the gallant crews who 
manned them. 

The squadron anchored near the mouth of the Han River May 
30, 1871. Approaching the squadron in a junk, some natives 
made signs of friendship and came on board without hesitation. 
They bore a missive acknowledging the receipt of the letter which 
the Americans had sent to Corea some months before, by a special 
courier from the Chinese court. This reply announced that three 
nobles had been appointed by the regent for a conference. The 
next day a delegation of eight officers of the third and fifth rank 
came on board, evidently with intent to see the minister and ad- 
miral to learn all they could and gain time. They had little 
authority and no credentials, but they were sociable, friendly and 
in good humor. Neither of the envoys would see them, because 
they lacked rank and credentials and authority. The Corean en- 
voys were informed that soundings would be taken in the river 
and the shores would be surveyed. 

The best judges of eastern diplomacy think that this mission 
was very poorly managed. These envoys were sent ashore, and 



362 BRAVE FIGHTING. 

at noon on the 2nd of June the survey fleet moved up the river. 
Tlie fleet consisted of f(3ar steam launches abreast, followed by 
the Palos and Monocacy. But a few minutes passed until from a 
fort on the shore a severe fire was opened on the moving boats. 
The Americans promptly returned the fire, with the result that 
the old Palos injured herself by the cannon kicking her sides out. 
The Monocacy also struck a rock and began to leak badly, but 
after hammering at the forts until they were all silenced, the 
squadron was able to return down the river and not greatly in- 
jured. Strange to say only one American was wounded and none 
were killed. It was a strong evidence of the poor marksmanship 
of Corean gunners. 

Ten days were now allowed to pass before further action was 
taken, then the same force started up the river again, enlarged by 
twenty boats conveying a landing force of .x hundred and fifty 
men. These were arranged in ten companies of infantry and 
seven pieces of artillery. The squadron proceeded up the river 
on the morning of the 10th of June, and soon after noon, having 
demolished and emptied the first fort, the troops were landed. 
The next day they began the march and soon reached another 
fortification which was deserted. Here all of the artillery was 
tumbled into the river and the fort was named Monocacy. In 
another hour, another citadel was reached, attacked, and con- 
quered by the united efforts of the troops on shore and the ves- 
sels in the stream. The final charge of the American troops up 
a steep incline met a terrible reception. The Coreans fought 
with furious courage in hand to hand conflict. Finally the enemy 
was completely routed, some three hundred and fifty of them 
being killed. On the American side three were killed, and ten 
wounded. Before the day was over two more forts were captured. 
The result of the forty-eight hours on shore, of which only eigh- 
teen were spent in the field, was the capture of five forts, probably 
the strongest in the kingdom, fifty flags, and four hundred and 
eighty-one pieces of artillery. The work of destruction was car- 
ried on and made as thorough as fire, ax and shovel could make 
it, and this was all on Sunday, June 11. 

Early on Monday morning the whole force was re-embarked in 
perfect order, in spite of the furious tide. The fleet moved down 



WAR WITH THE HEATHEN. 363 

the stream with the captured colors at the mast heads, and towing 
the boats Liden with the trophies of victory. Later in the day 
the men shiiu in the fight were buried on Boisee Island, and the 
first American graves rose on Corean soil. 

Admiral Rodgers, having obeyed to the farthest limit the orders 
given him, and all hope of making a treaty being over, the fleet 
sailed for Chefoo on the 3rd of July, after thirty-five days' stay 
in Corean waters. 

*' Our little war with the heathen," as the New York Herald 
styled it, attracted slight notice in the United States. In China 
the expedition was looked upon as a failure and a defeat. The 
popular Corean idea was that the Americans had come to avenge 
the death of pirates and robbers, and after several battles had 
been so surely defeated that they dare not attempt the task of 
chastisement again. 

When the mikado was restored to supreme power in Japan, and 
the department of foreign affairs was created, one of the first 
things attended to was to invite the Corean government to resume 
ancient friendship and vassalage. This summons, coming from 
a source unrecognized for eight centuries, and to a regent swollen 
with pride at his victory over the French and his success in extir- 
pating the Christian religion, was spurned with defiance. An in- 
solent and even scurrilous letter was returned to the mikado's 
government. The military classes, stung with rage, formed a war 
party, but the cabinet of Japan vetoed the scheme and in October, 
1873, Saigo, the leader of the war party, resigned and was re- 
turned to Satsuma to brood over his defeat. 

In 1873 the young king of Corea attained his majority. His 
father Tai-wen Kun, the Regent, by the act of the king was re- 
lieved of office and his bloody and cruel lease of power came to 
an end. The young sovereign proved himself a man of some 
mental vigor and independent judgment, not merely trusting to 
his ministers, but opening important documents in person. He 
was ably seconded by his wife, to whom was born in the same 
year an heir to the throne. 

The neutral belt of land, long inhabited by deer and tigers, had 
within the last few decades been overspread with squatters, brig- 
ands, and outlaws. The depredations of these border ruffians 
18 



364 NEUTRAL STRIP ABOLISHED. 



had become intolerable both to China and Corea. In 1875 Li 
Hung Chang sending a force of picked Chinese troops with a 
gunboat to the Yalu broke up the nest of robbers and allowed 
settlers to enter the land. Two years later the Peking government 
shifted its frontier to tlie Yalu River, and Corean and Chinese 
territory was separated only by flowing water. The neutral strip 
was no more. 

In 1875 some sailors of one of the Japanese ironclads, landing 
near Kang-wa for water, were fired on by Corean soldiers under 
the idea that they were Americans or Frenchmen. The Japanese 
before this time had adopted uniforms of foreign style for their 
navy. Retaliating, the Japanese two days later stormed and dis- 
mantled the fort, shot most of the garrison, and carried the spoils 
to the ships. The news of this affair brought the wavering minds 
of both the peace and the war party of Japan to a decision. An 
envoy was dispatched to Peking to find out the exact relation of 
China to Corea, and secure her neutrality. At the same time an- 
other was sent with the fleet to the Han River, to make if possi- 
ble a treaty of friendship and open ports. General Kuroda hav- 
ing charge of the latter embassy, with men of war, transports, 
and marines, reached Seoul February the 6th, 1876. About the 
same time a courier from Peking arrived in the capital, bearing 
the Chinese imperial recommendation that a treaty be made with 
the Japanese. The temper of the young king had been mani- 
fested long before this by his rebuking the district magistrate of 
Kang-wa for allowing soldiers to fire on peaceably disposed people, 
and ordering the offender to degradation and exile. Arinori 
Mori in Peking had received a written disclaimer of China's re- 
sponsibility over Corea, by which stroke of policy the Middle 
Kingdom freed herself from all possible claims of indemnity from 
France, the United States, and Japan. 

After several days of negotiation the details of the treaty were 
settled, and on February 27 the treaty in which Chosen was rec- 
ognized as an independent nation was signed and attested. 
The first Corean embassy which had been accredited to the mi- 
kado's court since the Twelfth century, sailed from Fusanin a Jap- 
anese steamer, landing at Yokohama, May 29. By railroad and 
steaxn cars they reached Tokio, and on the first of June the envoy 



JAPAN AND CORf:A MAKE TREATY. 365 

had audience of the mikado. For three weeks the Japanese 
amused, enlightened and startled their guests by showing them 
their war ships, arsenals, artillery, torpedoes, schools, buildings, 
factories, and offices, equipped with steam and electricity, the 
ripened fruit of the seed planted by Perry in 1854. All attempts 
of foreigners to hold any communication with them were firmly 
rejected by the Coreans. Among the callers with diplomatic 
powers from the outside world in 1881, each eager and ambitious 
to be the first in wresting the coveted prize of a treaty, were two 
British captains of men-of-war and a French naval officer, all of 
whom sailed away with rebuffs. 

Under the new treaty Fusan soon became a bustling place of 
trade with a Japanese population of some two thousand. Public 
buildings were erected for the Japanese consulate, chamber of 
commerce, bank, steamship company, and hospitals. A news- 
paper was established, and after a few years of mutual contact at 
Fusan the Coreans, though finding the Japanese as troublesome 
as the latter discovered foreigners to be after their own ports were 
opened, with much experience settled down to endure them for 
the sake of a trade which was undoubtedly enriching the country. 
Gensan was opened May 1, 1880. An exposition of Japanese, 
European, and American goods was established for the benefit of 
trade with the Coreans. 

Russia, England, France, Italy, and the United States all made 
efforts in the next few months to make treaties with Corea, and 
all were politely rejected. Early in 1881 Chinese and Japanese 
influence began to be enlisted in favor of the United States in the 
effort to make a treaty. Li Hung Chang, China's liberal states- 
man, wrote a letter to a Corean gentleman in which he advised 
the country to seek the friendship of the United States. The 
Chinese secretary of legation at Tokio also declared to the Co- 
reans that Americans were the natural friends of Asiatic rrAcions, 
and should be welcomed. It began to look more hopeful for the 
United States to secure her treaty through the influence of the 
Chinese than that of the Japanese, on whom we had previously 
depended. One of the most important moves in the advancement 
of Corea's civilization was the sending of a party of thirty-four 
prominent men to visit Japan, and further study the problem of 



V>(j6 AMERICAN TREATY SIGNED. 

how far western ideas were adapted to an oriental state. The 
leader of this party, after his return from Japan, was dispatched 
on a mission to China, where his conference was chiefly with Li 
Hung Chang. He had now a good opportunity of judging the 
relative merits of Japan and China. The results of this mission 
were soon apparent, for shortly after, eight}^ joinig men were sent 
to Tien-tsin where they began to diligently pui-sue their studies of 
western civilization as it had impressed itself on China in the 
arsenals and schools. 

The spirit of progress made advance from the beginning of 
1882, but discussion reached fever heat in deciding whether the 
favor of Japan or China should be most sought, and which for- 
eign nation should be first admitted to treaty rights. An event 
not unlooked-for, increased the power of the progressionists. 
Kozaikai urged the plea of expulsion of foreigners in such intem- 
perate language that he was accused of reproaching the sovereign. 
At the same time a conspiracy against the life of the king was 
discovered. Kozaikai was put to death, many of the conspirators 
were exiled, and the ringleaders were sentenced to be broken 
alive on the wheel. The progressionists had now the upper hand, 
and early in the spring two envoys went to Tien-tsin to inform 
Americans and Chinese that the Corean government was ready 
to make a treaty. Meanwhile Japanese officers were drilling 
the Corean soldiers in Seoul. 

The American diplomatic agent. Commodore R. W. Shufeldt, 
arrived in the Swatara off Chemulpo May 7. Accompanied by 
three officers he went six miles into the interior, to the office of 
the Corean magistrate, to formulate the treaty. Two days after- 
ward the treaty document was signed, in a temporary pavilion on 
a point of land opposite the ship. Both on the American and 
Corean side this result had been brought about only after severe 
toil ar.d prolonged effort. 

Four days after the signing of the American treaty, the crown- 
prince, a lad of nine years old, was married in Seoul. This year 
will be forever known as the year of the treaties. Within a few 
months treaties were signed by Corea with Great Britain, France, 
Germany, Italy and China. Within a week there appeared in the 
harbor of Chemulpo two American, three British, one French, one 



OUTBREAK tlSf SEOUL. VjGd 

Japanese, one German and live Chinese armed vessels; all ol" Lliem 
except the French had left by Jane 8, to the great relief of the 
country people, many of whom had fled to the hills when the big 
guns began to waste their powder in salutes. 

The Japanese legation in Seoul now numbered about forty per- 
sons. They seemed to suspect no imminent danger, although the 
old fanatic and tyrant Tai-wen Kun was still alive and plotting. 
He was the centre of all the elements hostile to innovation, and 
being a man of unusual ability, was possessed of immense influ- 
ence. During the nine years of his nominal retirement from of- 
fice, this bigoted Confucianist who refused to know anything of 
tlie outer world waited his opportunity to make trouble. Just 
then the populace was most excited over the near presence of the 
foreigners at Chemulpo, the usual rainfall was withheld, and in 
the consequent drought the rice crop was threatened with total 
failure. The sorcerers and the anti-foreign party took advantage 
of the situation to play on the fears of the superstitious people. 
The spirits displeased at the intrusion of the western devils were 
angry, and were cursing the land. 

While the king was out in the open air praying for rain July 
23, a mob of sympathizers with the old regent attempted to seize 
him. The king escaped to the castle. Some mischief-maker then 
started the report that the Japanese had attacked the royal castle 
and had seized the king and queen. Forthwith the mob rushed 
with frantic violence upon the legation, murdering the Japanese 
policemen and students whom they met on the streets, and the 
Japanese military instructors in the barracks. Not satisfied with 
this, the rioters, numbering four thousand men, attacked and de- 
stroyed the houses of the ministers favoring intercourse. Many 
of the Mins and seven Japanese were killed. The Japanese le- 
gation attaches made a brave defence to the night attack which 
was made on them. Armed only with swords and pistols, the 
Japanese formed themselves into a circle, charged the mob, and 
cut their way through it. After an all night march through a se- 
vere storm, the little band fighting its way for much of the time, 
reached In-chiun at three o'clock the next day. The governor re- 
ceived them kindly and supplied food and dry clothing, then post- 
ing sentinels to watch so that the Japanese could get some rest. 



370 JAPANESE l^ORCE REgPtCf. 

In an liour the mob attacked them there, and they were again 
compelled to cut their way out. They now made for Chemulpo, 
the seaport of the city, and about midnight, having procured a 
junk, they put to sea. The next morning they were taken on 
board a British vessel which was surveying the coast, and a few 
days later were landed at Nagasaki. 

Without hesitation the Japanese government began prepara- 
tions for a military and naval attack. Hanabusa, the minister to 
Corea and his suite were sent back to Seoul, escorted by a mili- 
tary force. He was received with courtesy in the capital whence 
he had been driven three weeks ago. The fleet of Chinese war 
ships was also at hand, and everything was apparently under the 
control of Tai-wen Kun, who now professed to be friendly to for- 
eigners. At his audience with the king, Hanabusa presented the 
demands of his government. These were nominally agreed to, 
but several days passing without satisfactory action, Hanabusa 
having exhausted remonstrance and argument left Seoul and re- 
turned to his ship. This unexpected move, a menace of war, 
brought the usurper to terms. On receipt of Tai-wen Kun's 
apologies, the Japanese envoy returned to the capital and full 
agreement was given to all the demands of Japan by the Corean 
government. The insurgents were arrested and punished, the 
heavy indemnity was paid, and an apology was sent by a special 
embassy to Japan. Within the next few days Tai-wen Kun was 
taken on board a Chinese ship at the orders of Li Hung Chang 
and taken to Tien-tsin. It is generally believed that this action 
was practically a kidnapping, but whether to rescue Tai-wen 
Kun from the dangers which threatened him or to maintain 
China's old theory of sovereign control over Corean rulers it is 
hard to know. 

The treaty negotiated with the United States was duly ratified 
by our senate, and Lucius H. Foote was appointed minister to 
Corea. General Foote reached Chemulpo in the United States 
steamship Monocacy May 13, and the formal ratifications of the 
treaty were exchanged in Seoul six days later. The guns of the 
Monocacy, the same which shelled the Han forts in 1870, fired the 
first salute ever given to the Corean flag. The king responded by 
sending to the United States an embassy of eleven persons led by 



COREANS IN AMERICA. 371 

Mill Yoiig Ik and Hong Yoiig Sik, members respectively of the 
conservative and liberal parties. 

Their interview with President Arthur was in the parlors of 
the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, on September 17. All the 
Coreans were dressed in their national custom, which they wore 
habitually while in America. After spending some weeks in the 
study of American Institutions in several cities, part of the em- 
bassy returned home by way of San Francisco, leaving one of 
their number at Salem, Mass., to remain as a student ; while Min 
Yong Ik and two secretaries embarked on the United States 
steamship Trenton, and after visiting Europe, reached Seoul in 
June, 1884. 

We have now reached a point in Corean history from which 
a continuance can be better made in a later chapter. Almost 
from the time of the return of the Corean embassy from the 
United States, the political ferment increased, until a few months 
after began the disorders which culminated ten years later in the 
present Japanese-Chinese war. These events will therefore be re- 
lated in the chapter which is to follow, descriptive of the causes 
of the war, and the relations of the three oriental nations at the 
outbreak of hostilities. 



GEOGRAPHY, GOVERNMENT, CLIMATE AND PRO- 

UCTS OF COREA. 



Geographical Limits of Corea— Characteristics of the Coast Line— The Surface Configura- 
tion of the Country— Isolation Made Easy by the Character of its Boundaries— Rivers of the 
Peninsula— The Climate— Forests, Plants, and Animals— Products of the Soil and of the Mine 
—Extent of Foreign Trade— The Eight provinces of Corea, Their Extent, Cities, and History 
—Government of the Corean Kingdom— The Dignitaries and their Duties— Corruption in 
the Administration of Official Duties— Buying and Selling Office- The Executive and the 
Judiciary. 

For many a year the country of Corea has been known in little 
more than name. Its territory is a peninsula on the east coast of 
Asia, between China on the continent, and the Japanese islands 
to the eastward. It extends from thirty-four degrees and thirty 
minutes to forty-three degrees north latitude, and from one 
hundred and twenty-four degrees and thirty minutes to one 
hundred and thirty degrees and thirty minutes east longitude, 
between the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. The Yellow Sea 
separates it from the southern provinces of China, while the Sea 
of Japan and the Strait of Corea separate it from the Japanese 
islands. It has a coast line of about one thousand seven hundred 
and forty miles, and a total area of about ninety thousand square 
miles. The peninsula, with its outlying islands, is nearly equal 
in size to Minnesota or to Great Britian. In general shape and 
relative position to the Asiatic continent it resembles Plorida. 
Tradition and geological indications lead to the belief that an- 
ciently the Chinese promontory and province of Shan-tung, and 
the Corean peninsula were connected, and that dry land once 
covered the space filled by the waters joining the Gulf of Pechili 
and the Yellow Sea. These waters are so shallow that the eleva- 
tion of their bottoms but a few feet would restore their area to 
the land surface of the globe. On the other side also, the Sea 
of Japan is very shallow and the Straits of Corea at their greatest 
depth have but eighty-three feet of water. 

The east coast is high, mountainous, and but slightly indented, 
372 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COASTS OF COREA. 373 

with very few islauds or harbors. Tlie south and west shores are 
deeply and manifoldly scooped and fringed with numerous 
islands. From these island-skirted shores, especially on the west 
coast, mud banks extend out to sea beyond sight. While the 
tide on the east coast is very slight, only two feet at Gensan, it 
increases on the south and west coasts in a north direction, rising 
to thirty-three feet at Chemulpo. The rapid rise and fall of tides, 
and the vast area of mud left bare at low water, cause frequent 
fogs, and render the numerous inlets little available except for 
native craft. On the west coast the rivers are frozen in winter, 
but the east coast is open the whole winter through. 

Quelpaert, the largest island, forty by seventeen miles, lies 
sixty miles south of the main land. Port Hamilton, between 
Quelpaert and Corea, was for a time an English possession, but in 
1886 was given to China. The Russians are generally believed to 
have an overweening desire for the magnificent harbor of Poit 
Lazaref on the east coast of the Corean mainland. In its policy 
of exclusion of all foreigners, the government has had its tasks 
facilitated by the inaccessible and dangerous nature of the 
approaches to the coast. The high mountain ranges and steep 
rocks of the east coast, and the thousands of islands, banks, 
shoals and reefs extending for miles into the sea on the western 
and southern shores, unite to make approach exceedingly difficult, 
even with the best charts and surveys at hand. 

In the middle of the northern boundary of Corea, is the most 
notable natural feature of the peninsula. It is a great mount- 
ain, the colossal Paik-tu or '' ever white " mountain, as it is known 
from the snow that rests upon its summit. When the Man- 
choorians pushed the Coreans farther and farther back, they 
reached this mountain, which marked the natural barrier which 
they were able to make their permanent boundary line. Accord- 
ing to native account, which in Corea is seriously believed, the 
highest peak of this mountain reaches the moderate elevation of 
forty four miles. It is famous as the birthplace of Corean folk 
lore, and a great deal that is mythical hangs about it still. On 
the top of the peak is a lake thirty miles in circumference. From 
this lake flow two streams, one to the north-east, tlie Tumen, 
which enters the Sea of Japan ; and the other to the south-west, 



374 RIVERS OF THE PENINSULA. 

the Yalu river, wliicli flows into the Corean bay at the head of 
the Yellow Sea. Corea is therefore in reality an island. These 
two rivers and the lake forming the northern boundary are about 
four hundred and sixty miles from the ocean at the southern end 
of the peninsula. The greatest width of the country is three 
hundred and sixty miles and its narrowest about sixty miles. 

The Tumen river separates Corea from Manchooria, except in 
the last few miles of its course, when it flows by Russian terri- 
tory, the south-eastern corner of Siberia. The Yalu river also 
divides Corea from Manchooria. The rivers of Corea are not of 
great importance except for drainage and water supply, being 
navigable but for short distances. On the west coast the chief 
rivers are the Yalu, the Ching-chong, the Tatong, the Han, the 
Kum ; the Yalu is navigable for about one hundred and seventy 
miles and is by far the greatest of all in the peninsula. The Han 
is navigable to a little above Seoul, eighty miles ; the Tatong to 
Ping-Yang, seventy-five miles ; and the Kum is navigable for 
small boats for about thirty miles. In the south-eastern part of 
the peninsula the Nak-tong is navigable for small boats to a dis- 
tance of one hundred and forty miles. The Tumen river, which 
forms the north-eastern boundary between Corea and Siberia, is 
not navigable except near the mouth. It drains a mountainous 
and rainy country. Ordinarily it is shallow and quiet, but in 
spring its current becomes very turbulent and swollen. 

Occupying about the same latitude as Italy, Corea is also, like 
Italy, hemmed in on the north by mountain ranges, and traversed 
from north to south by another chain. The whole peninsula is 
very mountainous, some of the peaks rising to a height of eight 
thousand feet. 

The climate of the country is excellent, bracing in the north, 
with the south tempered by the ocean breezes in summer. The 
winters in the north are colder than those of American states in 
the same latitude, and the summers are hotter. The heat is 
tempered by sea breezes, but in the narrow enclosed valleys it 
becomes very intense. The Han is frozen at Seoul for three 
months in the year, sufficiently to be used as a cart road, while 
the Tumen is usually frozen for five months. 

Various kinds of timber abound, except in the west, where 



FAUNA ANT) FLORA. 



375 



wood is scarce and is sparingly used ; and in other parts the want 
of coal has caused the wasteful destruction of many a forest. 
The fauna is very considerable and besides tigers, leopards, and 
deer, includes pigs, wild cats, badgers, foxes, beavers, otters, 
martens, bears, and a great variety of birds. The salamander is 
found in the streams as in western Japan. The domestic animals 
are few. The cattle are excellent, the bull being the usual beast 
of burden, the pony very small but hardy, fowls good, the pigs 
inferior. 

Immense numbers of oxen are found in the south, furnishing 
the meat diet craved by the people, who eat much more of fatty 

food than the Japanese. 
Goats are rare. Sheep are 
imported from China onh^ 
for sacrificial purposes. The 
dog serves for food as well as 
for companionship and de- 
fense. Of birds the pheas- 
ants, falcons, eagle, crane, 
and stork are common. 

Among the products are 
rice, wheat, beans, cotton, 
hemp, corn, sesame, and 

^^ perilla. Ginseng grows wild 

^ ^<^<,<s,*^VV^ ^ in the Kange mountains and 

COREAN BULL HARROWING. is also much Cultivated about 

Kai-seng, the duties upon it, notwithstanding much smuggling, 
yielded about half a million dollars annually. 

Iron ore of excellent quality is mined ; and there are copper 
mines in several places. The output of the silver mines is very 
small, but the customs returns for 1886 show the value of gold 
exported that year to be $503,296. The principal industries are 
the manufacture of paper, mats woven of grass, split bamboo 
blinds, oil paper, and silk. The total value of the foreign im- 
ports in 1887 was $2,300,000, two-thirds representing cotton 
goods ; the native exports reached about $700,000, chief!}' beans 
and cow hides. The foreign vessels entering the treaty ports 
jearly number about seven hundred and fifty, of some two hun- 




376 



INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCIAL LIFE. 



dred thousand tons burden. Three-fourths of the trade is with 
Japan and more than one-fifth with China ; British goods go by 
way of these countries. Until 1888 business was done chiefly 
by barter, imports being exchanged largely for gold dust, and 
Japanese silk piece goods being a current exchange for trade 
inland. In that year the mint at Seoul was completed, and a 
beneficial effect on commerce resulted from the introduction of a 
convenient and sufficient coinage. Seoul is connected by tele- 
graph with Taku, 
Port Arthur, 
Chemulpo, Gen- 
san, and Fusan. 

Corea is divided 
into eight pro- 
vinces, three on the 
east coast and five 
on the west coast. 
These eight pro- 
vinces are divided 
into sixty districts 
with about three 
hundred and sixty 
cities, only sixty 
of which however 
are entitled to the 
name, the remain- 
der distinguishing 
themselves from 
the larger hamlets 
and villages merely by the walled-in residence of the chief govern- 
ment official. Only a portion of each real city is walled in ; but 
it must not be thought that these walls are in any way similar to 
those to be found in China, where even second and third rate cities 
are protected by high and strong fortifications with moats. Corean 
walls are usually about six feet high, miserably constructed, of 
irregular and uneven stone blocks, and nearly every one of them 
would tumble down at the first shock of a ball fired from a 
modern gun. 




COREAN CITY WALL. 



HISTORY OF THE NEUTRAL STRIP. 379 

Corea has for centuries successfully carried out the policy of 
isolation. Instead of a peninsula, her rulers strove to make her 
an accessible island, and insulate her from the shock of change. 
She has built, not a great wall of masonry, but a barrier of sea 
and river-flood, of mountain and devastated land, of palisade and 
cordon of armed sentinels. Frost and snow, storm and winter, 
she hailed as her allies. Not content with the sea border, she 
desolated her shores lest they should tempt the foreigner to land. 
In addition to this, between her Chinese neighbor and herself she 
placed a neutral space of implanted, unoccupied land. This strip 
of forest and desolated plain twenty leagues wide, has stretched 
for three centuries between Corea and Manchooria. To form it, 
four cities and many villages were suppressed and left in ruins. 
The soil of these former solitudes is ver}^ good, the roads easy, and 
the hills not high. The southern boundary of this neutral ground 
has been the boundary of Corea, while the northern boundary 
has been a wall of stakes, palisades and stone. Two centuries 
ago, this line of walls was strong, high, guarded and kept in 
repair, but year by year at last, during a long era of peace, they 
were suffered to fall into decay, and except for their ruins exist 
no longer. For centuries only the wild beasts, fugitives from 
justice, and outlaws from both countries have inhabited this fer- 
tile but forbidden territory. Occasionally borderers would culti- 
vate portions of it, but gathered the produce by night or stealth- 
ily by day, venturing on it as prisoners would step over the dead 
line. Of late years the Chinese government has respected the 
neutrality of this barrier less and less. Within a generation large 
portions of this neutral strip have been occupied ; parts of it 
have been surveyed and staked out by Cliinese surveyors, and the 
Corean government has been too feeble to prevent the occu- 
pation. Though no towns or villages are marked on the map of 
this neutral territory, yet already a considerable number of small 
settlements exist upon it, and it was through them that the over- 
land marches of the Japanese army from Corea into IManchooria 
had to be made. 

The province which borders this neutral territory, is that of 
Ping- Yang or " Peaceful Quiet." It is the border land of the 
kingdom, containing what was for centuries the only acknowl- 



380 PROVINCE OF PING-YANG. 

edged gate of entrance and outlet to the one neighbor which 
Corea willingly acknowledged as her superior. The battle of 
Ping- Yang recently fought, is only one of many which have 
interrupted the harmony of the province of " Peaceful Quiet." 
The town nearest the frontier and the gateway of the kingdom is 
Wi-ju. It is situated on a hill overlooking the Yalu river, and 
surrounded by a wall of light colored stone. The annual 
embassy always departed for its overland journey to China 
through its gates. Here also are the custom house and vigilant 
guards, whose chief business it was to scrutinize all persons 
entering or leaving Corea. Nevertheless most of the French 
missionaries have entered the mysterious peninsula through this 
loop-hole, disguising themselves as wood cutters, crossing the 
Yalu river on the ice, creeping through the water drains in the 
grand wall, and passing through this town, or they have been 
met by friends at appointed places along the border, and thence 
have traveled to the capital. Further details as to the political 
condition of this neutral strip will be included in a succeeding 
chapter, preliminary to the outbreak of the war. The Tatong 
river, which forms the southern boundary of the province, is the 
Rubicon of Corean history. At various epochs in ancient times 
it was the boundary river of China or of the rival states within 
the peninsula. About fifty miles from its mouth is the city of 
Ping-Yang, the metropolis and capital of the province and the 
royal seat of authority from before the Christian era to the 
tenth century. Its situation renders it a natural stronghold. It 
has been many times besieged by Chinese and Japanese armies, 
and near it many battles have been fought. 

The next province to the south is that of Hwanghai or the 
" Yellow Sea " province. This is the land of Corea that projects 
into the Yellow Sea directly opposite the Shan-tung promontory 
of China, on which are the ports of Chefoo and Wei-hai-wei. 
Tien-tsin, the seaport of Peking, is a little farther east. From 
these ports since the most ancient times, the Chinese armadas 
have sailed and invading armies have embarked for Corea. Over 
and over again has the river Tatong been crowded with fleets of 
junks, fluttering the dragon banners at their peaks. To guard 
against these invasions signal fires were lighted on the hill-tops 



WHERE INVADING ARMIES FOUGHT. 



381 



which formed a cordon of flame and sped the alarm from coast to 
capital in a few hours. This province has been the camping 
ground of the armies of many nations. Here, beside the border 
forays which engaged the troops of the rival kingdom, tlie 
Japanese, Chinese, Mongols, and IManchoos have contended for 
victory again and again. The principal cities of this province 
are Hai-chiu the capital, Hwang-ju an old baronial walled city, 
and the commercial citv of Sunto or Kai-seng. Rock salt, flints, 
einsena:, varnish, and brushes made of the hair of wolf tails, are 
the principal products of the province. 

Kiung-kei is the province which contains the national capital, 

although it is the 
smallest of all. 
The city of Han 
Yang, or Seoul, is 
on the north side 
of the river, fort}^ 
or fifty miles from 
its mouth. The 
name Han Yang 
means " the fort- 
ress on the Han 
river," while the 
common term ap- 
plied to the royal 
city is Seoul, which 
means "the capi- 
tal." The popula- 
tion of the city is between two hundred thousand and two hundred 
and fifty thousand. The natural advantages of Seoul are excel- 
lent, as it is well protected by surrounding mountains, and its 
suburbs reach the navigable river. The scenery from the city is 
magnificent. The walls are of masonry, averaging about twenty 
feet in lieight, with arched stone bridges over the water courses. 
The streets are narrow and tortuous. The king's castle is in the 
northern part. The islands in the river near the capital are 
inhabited by fishermen. 

Four great fortresses guard the approaches to the royal city, 




GATE OF SEOUL. 



382 SEOUL AND ITS FORTIFICATIONS. 

all of which have been the scene of siege and battle in time past. 
The fortresses in succession are Suwen to the south, Kwang-chiu 
to the south-east, Sunto to the north and Kang-wa to the west. 
On the walls of the first three have been set the banners of the 
hosts of Ming from China and of Taiko from Japan, in the wars 
at the close of the sixteenth century. The Manchoo standard in 
1637 and the French eagles in 1866 were planted on the 
ramparts of Kang-wa. Beside these castled cities there are 
forts and redoubts along the river banks crowning most of the 
commanding headlands. Over these the stars and stripes floated 
for three days in 1871 when the American forces captured the 
strongholds. 

Sunto is one of the most important, if not the chief commercial 
city in the kingdom, and from 960 to 1392 it was the national 
capital. The chief staple of manufacture and sale is the coarse 
cotton cloth which forms the national dress. Kang-wa on 
the island of the same name, at the mouth of the Han river, is 
the favorite fortress to which the royal family are sent for safety 
in time of war, or are banished in case of deposition. 

The province Chung Chong or " Serene Loyalty " is the next 
one to the southward facing the Yellow Sea. In the history of 
Corean Christianity this province will be remembered as the 
nursery of fhe faith. Here were made the most converts to the 
teachings of the French missionaries, and here persecutions were 
most violent. When the Japanese armies of invasion reached 
the capital in 1592, it was over the great highways from Fusan 
which cross this province. Chion-Chiu, the fortress on wliose 
fate the capital depended, lies in the north-east of the province. 
The province contains ten walled cities, and like all its fellows it 
is divided into departments, right and left. 

The most southern of the eight provinces, Chulla or "Complete 
Network " is also the warmest and most fertile. It is nearest to 
Shanghai and to the track of foreign commerce. Considerable 
quantities of hides, bones, horns, leather, and tallow are exported 
to Japan. The beef supplied from the herds of cattle in the pas- 
tures of Chulla is famous, and troops of horses graze on the pas- 
ture land. The province is well furnished with ports and harbois. 
Christianity had quite a hold in this province, and when Corea 



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THE SOUTH OF THE PENINSULA. 38.. 

was partly opened to the world there were many believers 
found in the north who were descendants of Christian martyrs. 
The capital is Chon-chiu. The soil of the province was the scene 
of many battles during the Chinese invasions of 1592-97. 

The island of Quelpaert is about sixty miles south of the main- 
land. It is mountainous, with one peak called Han-ra more than 
six thousand five hundred feet high. On its top are three extincc 
craters within each of which is a lake of pure water. Corean 
children are taught to believe that the three first created men of 
the world still dwell on these lofty heights. 

The most south-easterly province of Corea, and therefore the 
nearest to Japan, is Kiung-sang or the "Province of Respectful 
Congratulation." It is one of the richest of the eight provinces 
as well as the most populous, and the seat of many historical 
associations with Japan. The city of Kion-chiu was the capital 
of the ancient kingdom of Shinra, and from here to Kioto, from 
the third to the tenth century, the relations of war and peace, 
letters and religion were continuous and fruitful. The province 
has always been the gateway of entrance and exit to the Japan- 
ese. Fusan, the port which was held by the Japanese from very 
ancient times, is well at the south-eastern extremity of the penin- 
sula. Its fortifications are excellent, and its harbor well protected. 
Populous cities encircle the bay on which Fusan stands, and from 
this point extend two great roads to Seoul. The influence of cen- 
turies of close intercourse with their neighbors, the Japanese, is 
strongly marked in this province. 

The " River Meadow," or Kang-wen province fronts Japan from 
the middle of the eastern coast directly north of Kiung-saug. It 
is a province of beautiful scenery and precipitous mountains. The 
capital is Wen-chiu. The women of the province are said to be 
the most beautiful in Corea. 

Ham-kiung, or complete view, is that part of Corean territory 
adjoining the boundary of Russia. The south-eastern boundary 
of Siberia, which has been pushed farther south after every Euro- 
pean war with China, touched the Tumen river, the northern 
boundary of Corea, in 1858. It is but a little ways from the 
mouth of the Tumen river to the forts of Vladivostok and Possiet 
in Russian territory. From these cities extends a telegraph 
19 



386 GREAT COREAN-MANCHOORIAN FAIR. 

across Siberia to the cities of European Russia, and here will be the 
terminus of the great Trans-Siberian railway now under construc- 
tion. Possiet is connected with Nagasaki by an electric cable. In 
the event of a war between China and Russia, the Czar would 
most probably make Corea the basis of operations. Thousands 
of Coreans have left their own country to dwell in the neighboring 
portions of Siberia, and most of them are from the province of 
Ham-kiung. Persecuted Christians from all over the Corean pen- 
insula have however escaped to Russia for protection for many 
years. The port of Gensan near Port Lazaref, fronting Broughton's 
Bay has been opened for trade since May 1, 1880, and has been an 
important strategic and commercial point ever since. The capital 
city of this province is Ham-hung and there are fourteen other 
walled cities within its limits. Until the Russians occupied the 
adjoining territory, an annual fair was held at the Corea city of 
Kion-wen which lies close to the border. Here the Manchoo and 
Chinese merchants bartered their wares for those of Corean, the 
traffic lasting but two or three days and sometimes only one day. 
At the end of the fair any lingering Chinese not soon across the 
border was urged over at the point of a spear. Foreigners found 
within tlie Corean limits at any other time were apt to be ruth- 
lessly murdered. 

The government of Corea, since the amalgamation of the differ- 
ent tribes and union of the various states five hundred years 
ago, has devolved upon an independent king, an hereditary mon- 
arch whose rule was absolute and supreme. Next in authority to 
the king are the three Chong, or high ministers. The chief of 
these is the greatest dignitary of the kingdom, and in time of mi- 
nority or inability of the king wields royal authority. The father 
of the present king ruled as regent up to the time when his son 
reached his majority in 1874. After the king and the three prime 
ministers, come the six heads of departments of government wliicli 
rank next. These six department ministers are assisted by two other 
associates, the Cham-pan and the Cham e. These four grades and 
twenty-one dignitaries constitute the royal council of Dai-jin, 
though the actual authority is in the three ministers. All of the 
department ministers make daily reports of their affairs, and refer 
matters of importance to the supreme council. There are also 



FORMS OF GOVERNMENT IN COREA. 



387 



three chamberlains who record every day the acts and words of 
the king. A daily government gazette called the Cho-po is issued 
for information on official matters. The general cast and method 
of procedure in the court and government were copied in the be- 
ginning after the great model in Peking. The rule of the king 
in Corea is absolute, and his will alone is law. There has always 
existed, indeed, the office of a high functionary whose special duty 
consists in watching and controlling the royal actions. Formerly 
this office really had some significance, but of late years it has 

possessed none whatever. Another 
very curious institution has been 
that of the declared or official 
favorite, a position generally filled 
by some member of a noble family, 
or by one of the ministers whose 
influence for good or for evil was 
paramount with his royal master. 
The titles of the prime ministers 
are Chief of The Just Government, 
The Just Governor of the Left, 
and The Just Governor of the 
Right. The six department min- 
isters are those of the interior, or 
office and public employ, finance, 
war, education, punishments or 
justice, and public works. The 
duties of the minister of foreign 
affairs devolve on the minister of 
education. 

Each of the eight provinces is under the direction of a Kam-sa 
or governor. The cities are divided into six classes, and are 
governed by officers of corresponding rank. Towns are given in 
charge of the petty magistrates, there being twelve ranks or 
dignities in the official class. In theory, any male Corean able to 
pass the government examination is eligible to office, but the 
greater number of the best positions are secured by the nobles 
and their friends. The terms of office in these posts, from that 
of provincial governorship down to the lowest are only for two or 




COREAN MAGISTRATE AND SERVANT. 



388 FORMS OF GOVERNMENT IN COREA. 

three years. At the end of that time the incumbent pays pur- 
chase money and is removed to another place. The natural result 
of this system is that the officials take little interest in their 
offices except to extort as much profit as possible from the people 
whom they are governing. With offices and honors sold to the 
highest bidder, the high officers sell justice and plunder their sub- 
ordinates, while these again try to indemnify themselves by 
further extortion. 

The magistrates lay great stress on the trifles of etiquette, and 
sumptuary laws exist referiing to all sorts of the small things of 
life. The rule of the local authorities is very minute in all its 
ramifications. The system of making every fire houses a social 
unit is universal. Every subject of the sovereign except nobles 
of rank must possess a passport testifying to his personality and 
must show his ticket on demand. 

Civil matters are decided by the ordinary civil magistrate, 
while criminal cases are tried by the military commandant. 
Very important cases are referred to the governor of the province, 
and thence appealed to the high court in the capital. 



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COREAN CHARACTERISTICS AND MANNERS OF 

LIFE. 



Physique of the People— Rigid Caste System— Slavery— Guilds and Trade Unions— Po- 
sition of Women— Nameless and Oppressed— Marriage and Family Life— Burial and Mourn- 
ing Customs— Dress and Diet— Homes— Home Life— Children— Education— Outdoor Life- 
Music— Literature— Language— Religion. 

The Corean people are mainly of a Mongolian type, though 
there is some evidence that there is a Caucasian element in the 
stock. They are a little larger and steadier of physique than the 
Japanese, or the Chinese of the south, more nearly approaching 
to the northern Chinese and even to the tribes in the northeast of 
Asia. Frequently individuals are met, with hair not quite black, 
and even blue eyes and an almost English style of face. The 
characteristics of the people are distinguished to advantage from 
that of their Chinese neighbors by the openness and frankness of 
their demeanor. The Coreans, even of the lower classes, are 
grave and sedate by nature, which, however, does not exclude a 
spirit of frank gayety shown on nearer acquaintance. They are 
thoroughly honest, faithful and good natured, and attach them- 
selves with an almost childlike confidence even to strangers and 
foreigners, when once they begin to trust in their sincerity. 

Firm, sure, and quick in his walk, the Corean possesses greater 
ease and a freer motion tlian the Chinese, to whom they are su- 
perior in height and bodily strength. On the other hand it can- 
not be denied that the Coreans rank considerably below the 
Chinese in cultivation of good manners, and they are wanting in 
that little polish which is not absent even among the lower classes 
of China and Japan. 

The peculiarity of the Corean race and the difference between 
the same and the neighboring nations, shows itself mainly in the 
strict and rigid division of the castes which part the various ranks 
of the population of the peninsula from each other, showing some 
analogy to the caste institutions prevailing among the Hindus in 
India. There exists, however, this notable difference between 
the two, that while with the latter this separation is based upon 

(891) 



392 SYSTEM OF CASTE. 

religious principles and customs, no religious movement appears 
as its cause in Corea, where its origin seems solely attributable to 
political reasons, which have been maintained and kept up to our 
times by the government for reasons of its own. The forms of 
Corean society to this day are derived from feudal ranks and di- 
visions. The fruit and legacy of feudalism are seen in the serf- 
dom or slavery which is Corea's peculiar domestic institution. 

Speaking in general terms, society has four grades, following 
the king. These are the nobles and the three classes which come 
after them, in the last of which are "the seven low callings." In 
detail the grades may be counted b}' the scores. In the lowest 
grade of the fourth class are " the seven vile callings," that is, the 
merchant, boatman, jailer, postal or mail slave, monk, butcher, 
and sorcerer. The first and foremost rank, immediately after the 
king and the members of the royal family, who stand absolutely 
above and beyond these castes, is taken up by the so-called nobles, 
descendants of the old families of chieftains, who are again sub- 
divided into two degrees, the civil and the military nobility. 
These two classes of nobles, in the course of time, had possessed 
themselves of the exclusive right of occupying public office. Fol- 
loNving upon these we find the caste of the half nobles, numeri- 
cally a very weak class, which forms the transition from the no- 
bility to the civic classes. These also enjoy the right to fill cer- 
tain offices from their ranks, principally those of government sec- 
retaries and translators of Chinese. After these come the civic 
caste, which consists of the better and wealthier portion of the 
city inhabitants. This class counts amongst its numbers the mer- 
chants, manufacturers, and most kinds of artisans. Next follows 
the people's caste, which comprising the bulk of the people is 
naturally the most numerous of all and includes all villagers, 
farmers, shepherds, huntsmen, fishermen, and the like. 

The nobles are usually the slave holders, many of them having 
in their households large numbers whom they have inherited 
along with their ancestral chattels. The master has a right to 
sell or otherwise dispose of the children of his slaves if he so 
choose. Slavery or serfdom in Corea is in a continuous state 
of decline, and the number of slaves constantly diminishing. 
The slaves are those who are born in a state of servitude, those 



SLAVERY OR SERFDOM. 



893 



who sell themselves as slaves, and those who are sold to be such 
by their parents in times of famine or for debt. Infants exposed 
or abandoned that are picked up and educated become slaves, but 
their offspring are born free. The serfdom is really very mild. 
Only the active young men are held to field labor, the young 
women being kept as domestics. When old enough to marry, the 
males are let free l)y an annual payment of a sum of money for a 
term of years. Outside of private ownership of slaves, there is a 
species of government slavery which illustrates the persistency of 




STATESMAN ON MONOCYCLE. — Native Drawing. 



one feature of the ancient kingdom of Korai perpetuated through 
twenty centuries. It is the law that in case of the condemnation 
of a great criminal, the ban shall fall upon his wife and children, 
who at once become the slaves of the judge. These unfortunates 
do not have the privilege of honorably serving the magistrate, but 
usually pass their existence in waiting on the menials in the 
various government offices. Only a few of the government slaves 
are such by birth, most of them having become so through 
judicial condemnation in criminal cases ; but this latter class fare 



394 



GUILDS AND LABOR UNIONS. 



far worse than the ordinary slaves. They are chiefl3- fcnudes and 
ure treated httle better than beasts. Nothing can equal he con 
tempt in which they are held. ^ 

By union and organization it has come to pass that the common 
people and the serfs themselves in Corea have won a ce ai 
degree of sockl l^eedom that is increasing. _ The spirit of also- 

elation is spread among 
the Coreans of all class- 
es, from the highest 
families to the meanest 
slaves. All those who 
have any kind of work 
or interest in common, 
form guilds, corpora- 
tions or societies which 
have a common fund 
contributed to by all for 
aid in time of need. 
Very powerful trade 
unions exist among the 
mechanics and laborers, 
such as hat-weavers, 
coffin-makers, carpen- 
ters, and masons. These 
societies enable each 
class to possess a mo- 
nopoly of trade which 
even a noble /ainly tries 
to break. Sometimes 
they hold this right bv 

aie taxed by the government for their monopoly enjoyed Thev 
have the,r chief or head man who possesses' aln o t despodc 
power, even in some guilds of life and death ^ 

the porters*'%r* T""'"' ""^ '"* "^^^"'^'^^ S-Ms is that of 
the porters. The .ntenor commerce of the country being almost 




GUILDS AND LABOR UNION'S. 



395 



entirely on the backs of men and pack horses, these people have 
the monopoly of it. They number about ten thousand, and are 
divided by provinces and districts under the orders of chiefs and 
inspectors. They have very severe rules for the government of 
their guild, and crimes among them are punished with death at 
the order of their chief. Tliey are so powerful that they pretend 
that even the government dare not interfere with them. They 
are honest and faithful in their business, delivering packages with 




PORTERS WITH CHAIR. — Native Drawing. 

certainty to '""-e most remote places in the kingdom. When they 
have received an insult, or injustice, or too low wages, they 
" strike " in a body and retire from the district. This puts a stop 
to all travel and business until the grievances are settled, or sub- 
mission to their own terms is made. Owing to the fact that the 
country at large is so lacking in the shops and stores common in 
other countries, and that instead fairs on set days are so numerous 
in the towns and villages, the guild of peddlers and hucksters is 



396 



WOMAN'S SECLUSION 



very large and influential. This class includes probably two 
hundred thousand able bodied persons who in the various provinces 
move freely among the people, and are thus useful to government 
as spies, detectives, messengers, and in time of need, soldiers. 

The Corean woman has little moral existence. She is an in- 
strument of pleasure or of labor, but never man's companion or 
equal. She has no name. In childhood she receives indeed a sur- 
name by which she is known in the family and by near friends, 
but as she grows up none but her father and mother employ this 
appellation ; to all others she is '' the sister " of such a one or " the 
daughter " of so and so. After her marriage her name is buried, 
and she is absolutely nameless. Her own parents allude to her 
by employing the name of the district or ward in which she is 
married. When she bears children she is '^ the mother " of so and 
so. When a woman appears for trial before a magistrate, in order 
to save time and trouble she receives a special name for the time 
being. 

In the higher classes of society etiquette requires that the 
children be separated after the age of eight or ten years. After 
that time the boys dwell entirely in the men's apartments to study 
and even to eat and drink; the girls remain secluded in the 
women's quarters. The boys are taught that it is a shameful 
thing even to set foot in the female part of the house. The girls 
are told that it is disgraceful even to be seen by males, so that 
gradually they seek to hide themselves when any of the male sex 
appear. These customs, continued from childhood to old age, 
result in destroying the family life. A Corean of good taste only 
occasionally holds conversation with his wife, whom he regards as 
being far beneath him. The men chat, smoke, and enjoy 
themselves in the outer rooms, and the women receive their 
parents and friends in the inner apartments. The men seek the 
society of their male neighbors, and the women on their part 
unite together for local gossip. In the higher classes, when a 
young woman has arrived to marriageable age none even of her 
own relatives except those nearest of kin, is allowed to see or 
speak to her. After their marriage women are inaccessible. They 
are nearly always confined to their apartments, nor can they even 
look out into the streets without permission from their lords. 



MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 397 

There is, however, another side. Though counting fur nothing 
in society, and nearly so in their family, they are surrounded by 
a certain sort of exterior respect. They are always addressed in 
the formulas of the most polite language. The men always step 
aside in the street to allow a woman to pass, even though she be 
of the poorer classes. There is also a peculiar custom which 
exists in Seoul which exhibits deference to the comfort of the 
women. A bell in the castle is struck at sunset, after which male 
citizens are not allowed to go out of their houses even to visit 
their neighbors. Women, on the contrary are permitted the free- 
dom of the streets after this time, consequently, as they are as- 
sured of safety, from seeing men or being seen by them, they 
take their exercise and enjoy the outdoors most heartily and 
freely at night. 

Marriage in Corea is a thing with which a woman has little or 
nothing to do. The father of the young man communicates with 
the father of the girl he wishes his son to marry. This is often 
done without consulting the tastes or character of either, and 
usually through a middleman or go-between. The fathers settle 
the time of the wedding, and a favorable day is appointed by the 
astrologers. Under this aspect marriage seems an affair of small 
importance, but in reality it is marriage only that gives one any 
civil rank or influence in society. Every unmarried person is 
treated as a child. He may commit all sorts of foolishness with- 
out being held to account. His capers are not noticed, for he is 
not supposed to think or act seriously. Even the unmarried 
young men of twenty-five or thirty years of age can take no part 
in social reunions or speak on affairs of importance. But mar- 
riage is emancipation. Even if mated at twelve or thirteen years 
of age, the married are adults. The bride takes her place among 
the matrons and the young man has a right to speak among the 
men and to wear a hat. 

The badge of single or married life is the hair. Before mar- 
riage the young man who goes bareheaded, wears a simple tress 
lianging down his back. In wedlock the hair is bound up on the 
top of the head and is cultivated on all parts of the scalp. Young 
persons who insist on remaining single, or bachelors who have not 
yet found a wife, sometimes, however, secretly cut off their hair 



398 THE WEDDING DAY. 

or get it done by fraud in order to pass for married folks and 
avoid being treated as children. Such a custom however is a 
gross violation of morals and etiquette. 

On the evening before the wedding the young lady who is to be 
married invites one of her friends to change her virginal coiffure 
to that of a married woman. The biidegroom-to-be, also invites 
one of his acquaintances to do up his hair in manl}^ style. On 
the marriage day in the house of tlie groom a platform is set up 
and richly adorned with decorative cloths. Parents, friends, and 
acquaintances assemble in a crowd. The couple to be married, 
who may never have seen or spoken to each other, are brought 
in and take their places on the platform face to face. There they 
remain for a few minutes. They salute each other with profound 
obeisance but utter not a word. This constitutes the ceremony 
of marriage. Each then retires upon either side ; the bride to 
the female, and the groom to the male apartments, where feast- 
ing and amusement after fashions in vogue in Chosen take place. 
The expense of a wedding is considerable and the bridegroom 
must be unstinting in his hospitality. Any failure in this particu- 
lar may subject him to unpleasant practical jokes. On her wed- 
ding day the young bride must preserve absolute silence both on 
the marriage platform and in the nuptial chamber. Etiquette re- 
quires this at least among the nobility. Though overwhelmed 
with questions and compliments, silence is her duty. She must 
rest mute and impassive as a statue. 

It is the reciprocal salutation before witnesses on the wedding 
dais that constitutes legitimate marriage. From that moment a 
husband may claim a woman as his wife. Conjugal fidelit}^ oblig- 
atory on the woman, is not required of the husband, and a wife 
is little more than a slave of superior rank. Among the nobles 
the young bridegroom spends three or four days with his bride, 
and then absents himself from her for a considerable time to prove 
that he does not esteem her too highly. To act otherwise would 
be considered in very bad taste and highly unfashionable. 

Habituated from infancy to such a yoke and regarding them- 
selves as of an inferior race, most women submit to their lot with 
exemplary resignation. Having no idea of progress or of an in- 
fraction of established usage they bear all things. They become 




JAPANESE WAR-SHIP "YOSHINO." 

(During the Attack on Wci-hai-wei, August I7ih, 1894.) 



DEATH AND BURIAL. 401 

devoted and obedient wives, jealous of the reputation and well- 
being of their husbands. The woman who is legally espoused, 
whether widow or slave, enters into and shares the entire social 
estate of her husband, Even if she be not noble by birth she 
becomes so by marrying a noble. It is not proper for a widow to 
remarry. 

The fashion of mourning, the proper time and place to shed 
tears, and express grief, according to regulations, are rigidly pre- 
scribed in an official treatise, or " Guide to Mourners," published 
by the government. The corpse must be placed in a coffin of 
very thick wood, and preserved during many months in a special 
room prepared and ornamented for this purpose. It is proper to 
weep only in this death chamber, but this must be done three or 
four times daily. Before entering it the mourner must don a 
special suit of mourning clothes. At the new and full moon all 
the relatives are invited and expected to assist in the ceremonies. 
These practices continue more or less even after burial, and at in- 
tervals during several years. Often a noble will go out to weep 
at the tomb, passing days and nights in this position. Among the 
poor, who have not the means to provide a death chamber and 
expensive mourning, the coffin is kept outside their houses cov- 
ered with mats until the time for its burial. 

Though cremation is known in Corea, the most usual form of 
disposing of the dead is by burial. Children are wrapped up in 
the clothes and bedding in which they die and are thus buried. 
As all unmarried persons are reckoned as children their shroud 
and burial are the same. With the married the process is more 
costly, and more detailed and prolonged. The selection of a 
proper site for their tomb is a matter of profound solicitude, time, 
and money ; for the geomancers must be consulted with a fee. 
The tombs of the poor consist only of a grave and a low mound 
of earth. With the richer class monuments are of stone, some- 
times neat or even imposing, sometimes grotesque. 

Mourning is of many degress and lengths, and is betokened by 
dress, abstinence from food and business, visits to the tomb, offer- 
ings, tablets, and many visible indications detailed even to ab- 
surdity. Pure or nearly pure white is the mourning color, as a 
contrast to red, the color of rejoicing. When noblemen don the 



402 MOURNING CUSTOMS. 

peaked hat which covers the, face as well as the head, they are as 
dead to the world, not to be spoken to, molested, or even arrested, 
if charged with crime. This Corean mourning hat proved the 
helmet of salvation to Christians and explains the safety of the 
French missionaries who lived so long in disguise under its shel- 
ter, unharmed in the country where the police were ever on their 
track. The Jesuits were not slow to see the wonderful protection 
promised for them, and availed themselves of it at once and 
always, both while entering the well-guarded frontier and while 
residing in the country. 

Corean architecture is in a very primitive condition. The 
castles, fortifications, temples, monasteries, and public buildings 
cannot approach the magnificence of those of Japan or China. 
The dwellings are tiled or thatched houses, almost invariably one 
story high. In the smaller towns these are not arranged in regu- 
lar streets but are scattered here and there. Even in the cities 
the streets are narrow and tortuous. In the rural parts the houses 
of the wealthy are surrounded by beautiful groves, with gardens 
circled by hedges or fences of rushes or split bamboo. The cities 
show a greater display of red-tiled roofs, as only the officials and 
nobles are allowed this honor. Shingles are not much used. The 
thatchings are rice or barley straw. A low wall of uncemented 
stone five or six feet high, surrounds the dwellings. The foun- 
dations are laid on stone set in the earth, and the floor of the 
humble is the ground itself. The people one grade above the 
poorest, cover the hard ground with sheets of oiled paper which 
serve as a carpet. For the better class a floor of wood is raised 
a foot or so above the earth. 

Bed clothes are of silk, wadded cotton, thick paper, and furs. 
Cushions or bags of rice-chaff form the pillows of the rich. The 
poor man uses a smooth log of wood or slightly raised portion of 
the floor to rest his head upon. In most families of the middle 
class, the "kang" forms the vaulted floor, bed, and stove. It is 
as if we should make a bedstead of bricks and put foot-stoves un- 
der it. The floor is bricked over or built of stone, over flues 
which run from the fireplace at one end of the liouse to the chim- 
ney at the other. The fire which does the cooking is thus used 
to warm those sitting or sleeping in the room beyond. 



COREAN HOMES. 



403 



Three rooms are the rule in an average house, and these are for 
cooking, eating, and sleeping. In the kitchen the most notable 
articles are the large earthen jars for holding rice, barley or water. 
Each of them is big enough to hold a man easily. The second 
room, containing the " kang," is the sleeping apartment, and the 
next is the best room or parlor. Little furniture is the rule. 
Coreans, like the Japanese, sit not cross-legged but on their heels. 




COREAN BOAT. — Native Drawing. 

Among the well-to-do. dog skins cover the floor for a carpet, or 
tiger skins serve as rugs. Matting is common. 

The meals are served on the floor on small low tables, usually 
one for each guest, but sometimes one for a couple. The best 
table service is of porcelain and the ordinary sort of earthenware 
with white metal or copper utensils. The tablecloths are of fine 
glazed paper and resemble oiled silk. No knives or forks are 
used ; but instead chopsticks and what is more common than in 



404 " MEALS, FOOD AND DRINK. 

China or Japan, spoons are used at every meal. The walls range 
in quality of decoration from plain mud to colored plaster and 
paper. Pictures are not known. The windows are square and 
latticed without or within, covered with tough oiled paper, and 
moving in grooves. The doors are of wood, paper, or plaited 
bamboo. Glass was till recently a nearly unknown luxury in 
Corea. 

The Corean liquor by preference is brewed or distilled from 
rice, millet, or barley. These alcoholic drinks are of various 
strength, color, and smell, ranging from beer to brandy. No trait 
of the Coreans has more impressed their numerous visitors than 
their love of all kinds of strong drink. No sooner were the 
ports of Corea opened to commerce than the Chinese established 
liquor stores, while European wines, brandies and whiskeys have 
entered to increase the national drunkenness. Although the 
Corean lives between the two great tea-producing countries of the 
world, he scarcely knows the taste of tea and the fragrant herb is 
little used on the peninsula. 

The staple diet has in it much more of meat and fat than that 
of the Japanese, and the average Corean can eat twice as much 
as the Japanese. Beef, pork, fowls, venison, fish, and game are 
consumed without much Avaste and rejected material. Dog flesh 
is on sale among the common butchers' meat. The women cook 
rice beautifully, and other well-known dishes are barley, millet, 
beans, potato, lily-bulbs, seaweeds, acorns, radishes, turnips, mac- 
aroni, vermicelli, apples, pears, plums, grapes, persimmons, and 
various kinds of berries. All kinds of condiments are much rel- 
ished. 

One striking fault of the Coreans at the table is their voracity. 
In this respect there is not the least difference between the rich 
and poor, noble or plebeian. To eat much is an honor, and the 
merit of a feast consists not in the quality but in the quantity of 
the food served. Little talking is done while eating, for each sen- 
tence might lose a mouthful. Hence, since a capacious stomach 
is a high accomplishment, mothers use every means to develop as 
elastic a capacity as possible in their children from very infancy. 
The Coreans equal the Japanese in devouring raw fish, and un- 
cooked food of all kinds is swallowed without a wry face. Fish 









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VORACITY OF THE COREANS. 



407 



bones do not scare them. These they eat as they do the small 
bones of fowls. 

Nationally and individually the Coreans are very deficient in 
conveniences for the toilet. Bath tubs are rare, and except in 
the warmer days of summer, when the river and sea serve for 
immersion, the natives are not usually found under water. The 
need of soap and hot water has been noticed by travelers and 
writers of every nation. The men are very proud of their beards, 
and honor them as 
a distinctive glory 
and mark of their 
sex. Women coil 
their glossy black 
tresses into mas- 
sive knots and 
fasten them with 
pins, or gold and 
silver rings. 

Corea is famous 
as the land of big 
hats. Some of 
these head-cover- 
ings are so im- 
mense that the 
human head en- 
cased in one of 
them seems as but 
a hub in a cart 
wheel. In shape 
the gentleman's corean egg-seller. — Native Drawing, 

hat resembles a flowerpot inverted in the center of a round 
table. Two feet is a common diameter, and the top, which rises 
in a cone nine inches higher, is only three inches wide at the apex. 
The usual material is bamboo, split to the fineness of a thread 
and woven. The fabric is then varnished or lacquered, and be- 
comes perfectly weatherproof. The prevalence of cotton cloth- 
ing, easily soaked and rendered uncomfortable, requires the ample 
20 




408 COSTUME OF MEN AND WOxMEN. 

protection for the back and shoulders which these umbrella-like 

hats furnish. 

The wardrobe of the upper classes consists of the ceremonial 
and the house dress. The former as a rule is of fine silk, and the 
latter of coarser silk or cotton. They are of pink, blue, and other 
rich colors. The official robe is a long garment like a wrapper, 
with loose baggy sleeves. There are few tailors^ shops, the 
women of each household making the family outfit. The under- 
dress of both sexes is a short jacket with tight sleeves, which for 
men reaches to the thighs, and for women only to the waist, and 
a pair of drawers reaching from waist to ankle. The females 
wear a petticoat over this garment, so that the Coreans say they 
dress like western women, and foreign^made hosiery and under- 
garments are in demand. Their general style of costume is that 
of the wrapper, stiff, wide, and inflated, with abundant starch in 
summer, but clinging and baggy in winter. The white dress of 
the Corean makes his complexion look darker than it really is. 
Footgear is either of native or of Chinese make. The laborer 
contents himself with sandals woven from rice-straw, whicli 
usually last but a few days. Small feet do not seem to be con- 
sidered a beauty, and the foot binding of the Chinese is unknown 

in Cho-sen. 

Judging from a collection of the toys of Corean children, and 
from their many terms of affection, and words relating to games 
and sports, festivals and recreation, and nursery stories, the life 
of the little ones must be pleasant. In the capital and among the 
higher classes, children's toys are very handsome, ranking as real 
works of art. They have many games played by the little ones 
quite similar to those of our own babies, and they delight in pets, 
such as monkeys and puppies. 

At school the pupils study out loud and noisily, according 
to the method all over Asia. Besides learning the Chinese 
characters and the vernacular alphabet, the children master 
arithmetic and writing. The normal Corean is fund of his 
children, especially of sons, who in his eyes are worth ten times as 
much as daughters. Such a thing as exposure of children is little 
known. The first thing inculcated in a child's mind is respect for 
his father. All insubordination is immediately and sternly re 



CLANNISH SPIRIT. 409 

pressed. Far different is it with the mother. She yields to her 
boy's caprices, and laughs at his faults and vices without rebuke, 
while the child soon learns that a mother's authority is next to 
nothing. 

Primogeniture is the rigid rule. Younger sons at the time of 
their marriage, or at other important periods of life receive 
paternal gifts, but the bulk of the property belongs to the oldest 
son, on whom the younger sons look as their father. He is the 
head of the family, and regards his father's children as his own. 
In all eastern Asia the bonds of famil}^ are much closer than 
among Caucasian people of the present time. All the kindred, 
even to the fifteenth or twentieth degree, whatever their social 
position, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, officials or beggars, 
form a clan or more properly one single family, all of whose 
members have mutual interests to sustain. The house of one is 
the house of the other, and each will assist to his utmost, another 
of the clan to get money, office, or advantage. The law recognizes 
this system by levying on the clan the taxes and debts which in- 
dividuals of it cannot pay, holding the clan responsible for the in- 
dividual. To this they submit without complaint or protest. In- 
stead of the family being a unit, as with us, it is only the frag- 
ment of a clan, a segment in the great circle of kindred. The 
Coreans are fully as clannish as the Chinese, and in this lies 
one great obstacle to Christianity or to any kind of individual 
reform. 

China gave her culture to Corea and Corea passed it on to 
Japan. If we may believe Corean tales, then the Coreans have pos- 
sessed letters and writing during three thousand years. It is 
certain that since the opening of the Christian era the light of 
China's philosophy has shone steadily among Corean scholars. In 
spite of their national system of writing, the influence of the 
finished philosophy and culture of China has been so great that 
the hopelessness of producing a copy equal to the original became 
at once apparent to the Corean mind. The culture of their native 
tongue has been neglected by Corean scholars. The consequence 
is that after so many centuries of national life Corea possesses no 
literature worthy of the name. 

At present Corean literary men possess a highly critical 



410 EDUCATION AND LITERATURE. 

knowledge of Chinese. Most intelligent scholars read the 
classics with ease and fluency. Penmanship is an art as much 
prized and as widely practiced as in Japan, and reading and 
writing constitute education. Corea has most closely imitated her 
teacher, China, in the use of education. She fosters education by 
making scholastic ability as tested in the literarj^ examination, the 
basis of appointment to office. This civil service reform was 
established by the now ruling dynasty early in the fifteenth 
century. The Corean child, neglecting his ovyn language, liter- 
ature, and history, studies those of China and the philosophy of 
Confucius, so that his education is practically that of the young 
man in China. Tlie same classics are studied and the same at- 
tention is paid to memory cultivation. The competitive exami- 
nations too are very similar to those of China, and corresponding 
degrees are granted. The system of literary examinations, which 
for two or three centuries after its establishment was vigorously 
maintained with impartiality, is at present in a state of decay, 
bribery and official favor being the causes of its decline. 

The special schools of languages, mathematics, medicine, art 
etc., are under the patronage of the government, but amount to 
very little. The school of astronomy and the choice of fortunate 
days for state occasions is for the special service of the king. 
There is also a school of interpreters, charts, law, and horology. 

Although the" Chinese language, writing and literature form 
the basis of education and culture in Chosen, yet the native 
language is distinct in structure from the Chinese, having little in 
common with it. The latter is monosyllabic, while the Corean is 
polysyllabic, as is the Japanese which the Corean closely re- 
sembles. No other language is so nearly affiliated to the Japanese 
as is the Corean. The Corean alphabet, one of the most simple 
and perfect in the world, consists of twenty -five letters, eleven 
vowels and fourteen consonants. They are made with easy 
strokes in which straight lines, circles, and dots only are used. 

As in Japan, so in Corea three styles of languages prevail, and 
are used as follows : Pure Chinese without any admixture of 
Corean, in books and writings on science, history aud govern- 
ment, and in the theses of the students and literary men ; in the 
books composed in the Corean language the vernacular syntax 



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LANGUAGE. 



413 



serves as the framework, but the vocabulary is largely Chinese ; 
the Corean book style of composition which is written in the pure 
Coreau language. Every one in Corea speaks the vernacular and 
not Chinese. 

The books which have been written in Corean, are chiefly primers 
or manuals of history, books on etiquette and ritual, and geog- 
raphy. There are also a few works of poetry written in the 
vulgar dialect. 




COREAN BAND OF MUSICIANS. — Native Drawing 

In passionate fondness for music the Coreans decidedly surpass 
all other Asiatic nations. Their knowledge is indeed primitive, 
however, not superior to that of their neighbors, and their instru- 
ments are of rude workmanship and construction. The principal 
of these instruments are the gong, the flute, and the two-stringed 
guitar, combining to make a music anything but harmonious. 
They always sing in falsetto, like the Chinese, in a monotonous 
and melancholy manner. The Coreans however possess a musical 



414 RELIGION. 

ear, and they know how to appreciate and like to listen to foreign 
music very much, while the Chinese have not the slighest idea of 
harmony, and placing our music far below their own, look down 
upon our art with something like a feeling of pity. 

The fibres of Corean superstition, and the actual religion of the 
people of to-day, have not radically changed during twenty 
centuries in spite of Buddhism. The worship of the spirits of 
nature and the other popular gods is still reflected in superstition 
and practice. The Chinese Fung Shuy, which in Corean be- 
comes Pung-siu, is a system of superstition concerning the direc- 
tion of the everyday things of life, which is nearly as powerful in 
Corea as in the parent country. Upon this system, and perhaps 
nearly equal in age with it, is the cult of ancestral worship which 
has existed in Chinese Asia from unrecorded time. Confucius 
found it in his day and made it the basis of his teachings, as it 
had already been of the religious and ancient documents of which 
he was the editor. The Corean system of ancestral worship pre- 
sents no feature radically different from the Chinese. Confuci- 
anism, or the Chinese system of ethics, holds about the same 
position that it does in China. Taoism seems to be little studied. 

In Corean mouths Buddha becomes Pul and his " way " or 
doctrine Pul-to or Pul-chie. The faith from India has made 
thorough conquest of the southern half of the peninsula, but has 
only partially leavened the northern portion where the grosser 
heathenism prevails. The palmy days of Corean Buddhism were 
during the era of Korai, 905 to 1392 A. D. In its development, 
Corean Buddhism has frequently been a potent influence in 
national affairs,'and the power of the bonzes has at times been so 
great as to practically control the court and nullify decrees of the 
king. As in Japan the frequent wars have developed the forma- 
tion of a clerical militia, able to garrison and defend their fortified 
monasteries, and even to change the fortune of war by the valor 
of their exploits. There are three distinct classes or grades of the 
bonzes or priests. The student monks devote themselves to learn- 
ing and to the composition of books and to Buddhist rituals. 
Then there are the mendicant and traveling bonzes who solicit 
alms and contributions for the erection and maintenance of 
tiie temples and monastic establishments. Finally the military 



BUDDHISM. 415 

bonzes act as garrisons, and make, keep in order, and are trained 
to use weapons. Even at the present day Buddhist priests are 
made high officers of the government, governors of provinces, and 
military advisers. In the nunneries are two kinds of female de- 
votees, those who shave the head and those who keep their locks. 
The vows of the latter are less rigid. Excepting in its military 
phases, the type of Corean Buddhism approaches that of China 
rather than of Japan. 

The great virtue of the Coreans is their innate respect for and 
daily practice of the laws of human brotherhood. Mutual assist- 
ance and generous hospitality among themselves are distinctive 
national traits. In all the important events of life, such as mar- 
riages and funerals, each person makes it his duty to aid the 
family most directly interested. One will charge himself with the 
duty of making purchases; others with arranging the ceremonies. 
The poor, who can give nothing, carry messages to friends and 
relatives in the near or remote villages, passing day and night on 
foot and giving their labors gratuitously. When fire, flood or other 
accident destroys the house of one of their number, neighbors 
make it a duty to lend a hand to rebuild. One brings stone, an- 
other wood, another straw. Each in addition to his gifts in mate- 
rial devotes two or three days* work gratuitously. A stranger 
coming into a village is always assisted to build a dwelling. Hos- 
pitality is considered as one of the most sacred duties. It would 
be a grave and shameful thing to refuse a portion of one's meal 
to any person, known or unknown, who presents himself at eating 
time. Even the poor laborers at the side of the roads are often 
seen sharing their frugal nourishment with the passer-by. The 
poor man making a journey does not need elaborate preparations. 
At night, instead of going to a hotel, he enters some house whose 
exterior room is open to any comer. There he is sure to find 
food and lodging for the night. Rice will be shared with the 
stranger, and at bedtime a corner of the floor mat will serve for a 
bed, while he may rest his head on the long log of wood against 
the wall, which serves as a pillow. Even should he delay his 
journey for a day or two, little or nothing to his discredit will be 
harbored by his hosts. 

It is evident after this glance at the history, the conditions, and 



416 GENEROSITY AND HOSPITALITY. 

the customs of the Coreans, that they have many excellent quali- 
ties, which require but the leavening influence of Christianity 
and western civilization to make them worthy members of the 
family of nations. It is quite possible that the influence of the 
Japanese-Chinese war, in its ultimate results, may reach this de- 
sirable consummation. 



The War 




JAPANESE COOLIES FOLLOWING THE ARMY. 



CAUSES OF THE WAR BETWEEN JAPAN AND CHINA. 



Inception Must be Sought Far Back in History— Old Time Animosity Between the two 
Nations Chiefly Responsible— Formal Recognition of Corean Independence by Japan— The 
Riots of 1882 and Their Result— Return of the Corean Embassy from a Trip Around the 
World— Advance of American Ideas and Influence— Plots of the Progressionists— The 
Coup d'Etat and Its Fatal Results— Flight of the Conspirators to Japan and America— De- 
coying of Kim-ok-Kiun to Shanghai— Assassination of Kim— Rebellion in Northern Corea— 
Aid Asked From China— China Sends Troops— Violation of Treaty with Japan— Army from 
Japan Arrives— Japanese in the Capital— Scheme of Reform Proposed by Japan and Re- 
jected by China— A Diplomatic Campaign. 

In its broadest sense no war between nations can be ascribed to 
a single cause, defined by exact limits of time and place. A cause 
of war always suggests the question as to what has made it such; 
and so we find that for an intelligent understanding of the pres- 
ent war we have to go back, beyond the Corean rebellions of the 
early spring of 1894, and take in the whole range of the relations 
of China and Japan to Corea and to each other. An understand- 
ing of the history of the three nations is necessary to a proper 
understanding of the war. 

The first formal recognition of Corean independence is found 
in the earliest treaty between Japan and Corea, that of 1876, by 
which the Coreans agreed to pay indemnity for an unwarranted 
attack which had been made upon a Japanese vessel, and to open 
several ports to Japanese traders. It was through this treaty that 
Corea was first introduced to the comity of nations. One of the 
professed objects of Japan during the war, has, therefore, been to 
establish the independence of Corea, which she has recognized in 
her treaties, against the Chinese claim of suzerainty. Sooner or 
later a war between Japan and China was inevitable. The heredi- 
tary animosities between the two nations have been aggravated 
by the marked difi'erences which have arisen of late 3^ears between 
their civilizations ; by the impatience under which Japan has 
struggled against an anomalous position among the powers, forced 
upon her by foreign treaties, while she has beheld her mediseval 
rival holding precedence and predominance ; and by the jealousy 

(419) 



420 NATURAL AND CULTIVATED ENMITY. 

and fanatic contempt with which the subjects of the " Son of 
Heaven " have watched the growing political aspirations of Japan, 
her conciliatory attitude towards foreigners, and her apostate 
abandonment of the manners and customs of oriental life. 

For years, moreover, an excuse for a collision has been develop- 
ing in the relations of the two states to Corea. In spite of the 
liberal sympathies of the Corean king himself, the ascendant 
force in the government has long been the Ming faction, to which 
family the queen belongs, which is pro-Chinese in its sympathies, 
foe to everything savoring of western liberal progress. Under 
the sway of this faction, which has monopolized the highest mag- 
istracies, government in Corea has been nothing more nor less 
than systematic plunder of the masses, for the benefit of a few 
privileged nobles. The admitted misgovernment of the country, 
which has always jeopardized the lives and property of aliens ; 
the suzerain claims of China; the vast commercial interests of 
Japan in the peninsula and her large colonies ; and finally the 
complicated treaty arrangements which have grown up between 
Tokio and Peking with regard to the " Hermit Kingdom "—these 
have long constituted a source of friction, in the knowledge of 
which the present conflict between the mandarins and the daimios 
is more readily understood. It is significant that while China has 
never formally given up her claim to lordship over Corea, she has 
refused to stand by her vassal on certain occasions, and has en- 
couraged the latter to conduct negotiations on her own account. 
This was indeed the action of China in 1876, when the treaty 
with Japan was made, and the latter seized the opportunity to 
recognize the king of Corea as an independent sovereign prince. 
(The immediate cause of the war is centered around the disputed 
question of the right of both parties to keep troops on Corean 
soil, a right which both have exercised more than once. It is the 
origin of this right and the complications that have arisen from 
it, that we must now trace with reference to the outbreak of the 
war. J 

Corea for ages has been the pupil of China, whence nearly 
everything that makes up civilization has been borrowed.) Of pa- 
triotism in its highest sense, of pure love of country, of willing- 
ness to make sacrifices for native land, there have been little in the 





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THE LEAVEN OF WESTERN INFLUENCE. 423 

kingdom. Such things are new thoughts nourished by a few far- 
seeing patriots. But leavening the multitude of Confucian fanat- 
ics and time-servers of the men in power at Peking, there are also 
men who have drunk at other fountains of thought, entered new 
worlds of knowledge, and seen the light of modern science, of 
Christianit}^ and of western civilization in other lands. The 
numbers of enlightened men are increasing who believe in na- 
tional progress, though to their demands there has ever been the 
defiance of vigilant conservation. Even within the two broadly 
defined parties, there are factional and family differences. Against 
the craft of the Ming clan the other noble families, Ni, So, Kim, 
Hong, and others, have been able to make headway only by adroit 
combination. 

In 1875 the two noblemen Kim-ok-Kiun and So Kwang Pom 
secretly left Corea and went to Japan, being the first men of rank 
in recent times to travel in lands beyond China. On their return 
they sought the king and boldly told him what they had seen. 
Other noblemen followed their example, but the brother-in-law of 
the king, Pak Hong Hio, was the first who at risk of reputation 
and life openly advocated the adoption of western civilization. 
In 1882 Kim and So in earnest consideration of the opening of 
their country to modern ideas, endeavored to persuade Min Yong 
Ik to join them and also win over his powerful Ming relatives to 
a liberal policy. When this came to the ears of the Tai-wen Kun 
the young men were forthwith charged with intent to introduce 
Christianity, and the two liberals narrowly escaped being put to 
death by the old regent who had already shed the blood of thou- 
sands. 

The men of the Ming faction held aloof from treaty negotiations 
with the United States until China gave the nod. When at last 
Li Hung Chang advised Corea to treat with Admiral Shufeldt, 
the Ming nobles obeyed and exhibited so much energy in the 
matter as to seem to foreigners to be the leaders of the party of 
progress. The old regent at once felt it his duty to overthrow 
both the Mings and the treaty. His opportunity came in July, 
1882, the year of the treaties. When on account of the short rice 
crop the soldiers' rations were cut down by the father of Min 
Yong Ik, the artful politician directed their revolt against this pro- 



424 



USURPATION OF TAI-WEN KUN. 



Chinese family, and after destroying, as he imagined, the queen 
and the leading men of the Ming clan, he seized the government 
itself and for a few days enjoyed full power. When the news of 
the usurpation reached China imd Japan there were in Tien-tsin 
three Corean nobles, Cho Yong Ha, Kim Yun Sik, and 0-Yun 
Chung; and in Tokio Kim-ok-Kiun and So Kwang Pom. The 
former, notified by telegram from the Chinese consul at Nagasaki 
of the movements of the Japanese, obtained a Chinese militar}- 
and naval force, and the ships of these two foreign nations met at 

Chemulpo. Before either 
the Chinese or Japanese 
troops were disembarked, 
the two groups of Corean 
noblemen had a confer- 
ence, and after a long and 
warm discussion it was 
agreed to submit the ques- 
tion whether the Chinese 
should land and proceed to 
Seoul, to the king himself. 
Accordingly Kim-ok-Kiun 
in disguise penetrated to 
the capital, but only to find 
the royal person in posses- 
sion of his old and chief 
enemy Tai-wen Kun, his 
friends driven away, and 
approach to the palace im- 
possible. On learning the 
failure of Kim's mission 
the Chinese force at once 
landed, marched to Seoul, abducted the regent, built forts to. com- 
mand the river against the Japanese, and established their camp 
inside the walls. This act of China gave her a new lien on Corea. 
The father of Min Yong Ik, Min Thai Ho, who had been supposed 
to have been mortally wounded, recovered and resumed office. 
Min Yonk Ik, who after fleeing to the mountains, shaved his head 
and in the disguise of a priest had fled to Japan, returned smiling 




THE COREAN REGENT. 



RETURN OF THE TRAVELERS. 425 

after temporary defeat. The queen, for whom a palace maid had 
suffered vicarious death, re-entered the capital and palace, and the 
star of the Mings was again in the ascendant. 

Two years later, in June, 1884, Min Yong Ik and So Kwang 
Pom, the first Coreans to go around the world, reached home fol- 
lowed by Kim-ok-Kiun and the Tokio students from Japan. 
After an enthusiastic reception of the returned envoys and the 
American officers of the Trenton in Seoul, the public opinion in 
favor of progress was greatly stimulated. Min Yong Ik was made 
vice-president of the Foreign Office and the others of the embassy 
were elevated in rank. The Chinese military instructors were 
dismissed by the king. A model farm sown with American 
seeds, and for which California live stock was ordered, Edison 
electric lights, American rifles and Gatling guns, Japanese artisans 
to establish potteries and other industries, gave indications of 
tlie new path of national progress upon which Corea had entered. 

Min Yong Ik while abroad has passed for an enlightened man, 
susceptible to modern ideas and in favor of opening Corea to 
commerce. Yet falling under the influence of his clan he had 
been home but a few weeks when he came to open rupture with 
Hong Yong Sik. Resigning from the foreign office he assumed 
command of the palace guard battalion and restored Chinese 
drill masters, the military students from Japan being left to gain 
their support as subordinates in the proposed postal department. 
By autumn the late envoy to the United States had surrounded 
himself with Chinese and pro-Chinese conservatives, the progress- 
ive men had been hampered in their action, and the revenues for 
the promised enterprises and industries had been diverted to war- 
like preparations, that looked as if Corea, as a vassal, was to help 
China against France in the Tonquin complication. 

The situation in Seoul became alarming. A state of hostility 
existed between the leaders of the two political parties, one of 
which had at their call a rabble of rapacious militia, eager to try 
their new tools upon their hereditary enemies, the Japanese, while 
the other knew full well the sterling quality of the little body of 
Japanese infantry. Fifteer. hundred Chinese soldiers were still 
in the camp under General Yuen. In such a situation, the 
government being in the hands of their rivals and committed to 



426 ALARMING CONDITIONS IN SEOUL. 

the pro-Chinese policy, the liberals felt that their heads were 
likely to remain on their shoulders only so long as it pleased their 
enemies to bring no charge against them. In nations without 
representative institutions, revolutions and outbreaks must be 
expected when a change of policy is decided upon. 

Let us see how the Corean liberals attempted, when beset and 
thwarted, to save their own lives and reverse the policy of the 
government. On October 25, one of the liberal leaders intimated 
to an American that " for the sake of Corea " about ten of the 
prominent conservatives " would have to be killed." The idea 
was to remove their rivals by removing the heads of the same, 
seize the government, inaugurate new schemes of progress, open 
new ports, and otherwise commit Corea to the same course as that 
upon which Japan had entered. They supposed that the treaty 
powers would condone and approve their action, make further 
favorable treaties, and loan money for national improvement. 
Further, they claimed to have had the royal sanction. ( The 
autumn passed by and the moment seemed ripe for the plot. 
China, pressed by France, had withdrawn half her troops from 
Seoul, and Japan, with a view to strengthening her influence in 
the peninsula, had a few days before remitted $400,000 of the 
indemnity exacted for the riot of 1882. The time to strike a 
blow for Corean independence and to break the shackles of China 
forever seemed to have come. ) 

On the evening of December 4, the foreign envoys and several 
high officers of the government were invited to a banquet to 
celebrate the inauguration of the postal service. When it was 
nearly over, an alarm of fire was given from the outside, accord- 
ing to arrangement of the conspirators, and Min Yong Ik, going 
out to look, was set upon by assassins, but instead of being killed 
as was intended, was only wounded. Thereupon the liberal 
leaders hastened to the palace, and assuring the king that he was 
in great danger, in his name sent to the Japanese minister for the 
Japanese legation guard. At the same time the conservative 
leaders were summoned, as they supposed by the king ; as fast as 
they stepped out of their sedan chairs at the palace gates, they 
were relieved of their heads. Meanwhile the Japanese infantry 
commanded the inner gates of the palace, and during the next 



THE LIBERAL INSURRECTION. 



427 



day the new ministers of government, the liberals whose names 
have already become familiar to us, prepared edicts to be issued 
by the king reforming ancient abuses and customs, and institu- 
ting new and radical measures of national policy. The city was 
in a state of commotion, but despite the surging crowd no actual 
outbreak occurred. 

^On the morning of the 6th the cry was raised " death to the 
Japanese," and then began a wild revelry of outrage, butchery, 




cr~v#^^^^^^^^ 



COREAN NATIVES VIEWING JAPANESE SOLDIERS. 



and incendiarism, in which the newly-trained militia were con- 
spicuous. I The white foreigners in Seoul, nine in number, of 
whom three were ladies, had gathered at the American legation, 
which under Lieutenant Bernadon's directions was put in a state 
of defense. In it twenty-two Japanese also found refuge. 

(That afternoon the Chinese troops, six hundred strong, com- 
manded by General Yuen and backed by three thousand Coreans, 
21 



428 DEFEAT OF THE COUP-D'ETAT. 

moved upon the palace to drive out the Japanese. / With superb 
discipline and skill Captain Murakami and his little band drove 
off their assailants, and through the narrow streets reached the 
legation at 8:00 P. M. after forty-eight hours' absence. The 
score of soldiers left behind, aided bj the hundred or so of 
civilians who had gathered within, had successfully defended the 
enclosure from the mob. Provisions being exhausted, the 
Japanese with admirable coolness, discipline, and success began 
the march to the sea on the afternoon of the next day. Despite 
hostile soldiery with rifles and cannon, armed men firing from 
roof and wall, barred city gates, and a mob following them to the 
Han river, the}^ crossed with their wounded and reached 
Chemulpo on the morning of the 8th. There they were fed by 
the sailors of the men-of-war, while a Japanese steamer carried 
the news to Nagasaki. 

The short-lived liberal government came to an end after an 
existence of less tlian forty -eight hours. Hong Yong Sik, refus- 
ing to leave the king, was taken with him to the Chinese camp 
and there beheaded. The other conspirators fled to Japan, 
whence they were demanded by the Corean ministerial council, 
which demand was by the Japanese promptly refused. The 
torture and trial of twelve persons implicated in the affair was 
concluded January 27, 1885, and eleven were executed in the 
usual barbarous manner. Their bodies were chopped in pieces 
and the flesh and bones distributed in fragments through the 
streets of the city and the different provinces. The refugees 
ultimately reached America, except Kim-ok-Kiun who settled in 
Japan. 

Count Inouye of Japan and Kim Hong Chip of Corea on Jan- 
uary 9; and Inouye and Li Hung Chang, of China, on May 7 
concluded conventions by which the troubles were settled. The 
chief points in the diplomacy were the payment of indemnity by 
Corea to Japan, and a joint agreement between China and Japan 
to withdraw their troops. Both camps were emptied on the 
20th, and on the 21st of May the troops left Chemulpo for their 
respective countries. October 5 tlie Tai-wen Kun, now sixty- 
eight years old, but fresh as a man of forty and able as ever to be 
a disturbing element, returned from China and re-entered Seoul 



NEW TREATIES MADE. 429 

under a guard of Chinese warriors and many thousands of 
Coreans. 

(The affair was in its origin an anti- Chinese uprising of radical 
progressives, but in its ending an anti-Japanese demonstration.; 
About three hundred lives were lost by battle and murder. The 
conduct of the American minister, General Foote, during this 
trying occasion, was most admirable, and the legation, which 
sheltered all the foreigners and many Japanese, was kept open 
and the American flag was never lowered. 

Even in these troublous times a way was opened for the en- 
trance of western science and reformed Christianity. Dr. Henry 
N. xAllen, a missionary physician from Ohio, was called upon to 
attend Min Yong Ik and the wounded Chinese soldiers. The 
superiority of modern methods being at once manifest, the gov- 
ernment became interested, and the dwelling occupied by Hong 
Yong Sik, who had been beheaded, was set aside as a hospital 
under Dr. Allen's charge. From that time forward several 
missionaries from American churches have entered active work 
in Corea, and three American young men engaged by the Corean 
government as teachers have begun to devise an educational 
system for the kingdom. There are now native Christian 
churches in Seoul, a hospital, schools, orphanages, and a college. 
Americans were chosen as advisers and assistants of the nation. 
Three military officers to organize her army, naval officers to 
inaugurate a navy, commissioners of customs, and a counsellor in 
the foreign office were among these. 

/"Renouncing the idea of the suzerainity of China over Corea, the 
king and government sent embassies to Japan, Europe, and the 
United States, to establish permanent legations. This movement 
was opposed by the Chinese, and especially by the Minister Yuen 
in an active, impudent, and even villainous manner.y' Yuen, who 
led the Chinese troops during the riot of December, 1884, and 
who escorted the Tai-wen Kun to Corea, is believed to liave 
plotted to dethrone the king and set up another son of the old 
regent as a pro-Chinese partisan on the throne Expecting to 
make use of the Corean military, whom he had drilled in person, 
his plot was exposed by Min Yong Ik. To checkmate any design 
of China, to prevent the departure of the envoys, or to convert 



430 AMERICAN INFLUENCE ADVANCING. 

her nominal authority into assertions of sovereignty or suzerainity, 
the Honorable Hugh N. Densmore, our minister, by the orders of 
the United States government, invited the embassy to take pas- 
sage from Chemulpo in the United States Steamship Omaha, 
which was done. In charge of Dr. H. N. Allen, Pak Chung 
Yang, a noble of the second rank, envoy extraordinary and min- 
ister plenipotentiary of the king of Corea, arrived in Washington 
and had audience of President Cleveland in January, 1888. 

When Kim-ok-Kiun, the leader of the insurrection of 1884, fled 
to Japan, he was welcomed by the Japanese and j-eceived as a 
protege of the emperor. Repeated demands were made by Corea 
upon tlie mikado to surrender him, and the demands were as re- 
peatedly refused. In the spring of 1394 he was lured by means 
of a dummy draft on a non-existing bank in China, to Shanghai, 
where on March 28, at the Japanese hotel, and in the absence of 
his Japanese attendant, he was foully murdered b}' his pretended 
friend. Hong Tjyong On, a tool of the Ming faction. This man 
had been in the employ of the Ming faction of the Corean govern- 
ment with the mission of the assassination entrusted to him, and 
if the crime was not committed by order of the king of Corea, as 
was popularly believed, it was surely by order of the queen, who 
has been strong in her influence. The murderer was arrested ; but 
instead of being tried by the Chinese was handed over to a Corean 
official, who, with the assassin and the corpse, was sent to Corea. 
There in spite of tlie protestations of foreign representatives, tlie 
body of Kim was horribly mutilated, parts of it being sent to the 
different provinces, while the murderer was rewarded with high 
official honor. 

This murder of a Corean by another Corean in a port under 
Chinese jurisdiction, though coupled with the subsequent brutal- 
ities at Seoul, could not be made a subject ®f diplomatic re- 
monstrance ; but it served in Japan to rouse the deepest public 
indignation and intense disgust. The Japanese government was 
not only outraged by the assassination of Kim, but by the con- 
duct of Yu, the Corean minister at Tokio. Two brothers named 
Ken, at the time of Kim's murder, attempted to bring the same 
fate upon Boku Eiko, Kim's fellow conspirator. Tlieir plot 
having been discovered, they -fled to Yu for protection. For 




I 



\ 



s 






MURDER OF KIM-OK-KIUN. 433 

three days he refused to give them up, but finally surrendered 
them and took a hasty and undignified departure from the 
country. The Japanese foreign office, having in vain sought an 
explanation of the motives of the king of Corea in connection 
with Kim's assassination, and of the precipitate and undiplomatic 
flight of the Corean representative, was glad to seize the first op- 
portunity which arose before long, when other events occurred 
which gave Japan occasion to act. 

For some time past the peninsular kingdom has been in a dis- 
turbed condition, owing to the spread of rebellious confederacies 
among the people. There was now quite a general uprising of 
Coreans, caused by their want of sympathy with the government, 
and focussed by their indignation at the horrible fate of Kim. In 
May, a formidable peasant uprising occurred in northern Corea, 
caused mainly by the official extortion practiced by tax-gatherers, 
but having in it elements of remonstrance against the assassination 
of Kim. The government troops were defeated May 16 at 
Reisan ; and on May 31 Zenshu fell into the hands of the in- 
surgents. Later Chung Jui was captured, and Seoul, the capital, 
was in a state of great commotion. The discovery of a plot to 
blow up the government building during the annual official meet- 
ing of the king and his ministers caused immense excitement. 
The plot was confessed by one of the conspirators, and warrants 
were issued for the arrest of one thousand persons implicated or 
suspected. 

In alarm the government appealed to China for assistance, and 
early in June an armed Chinese force numbering about two thou- 
sand was dispatched ,from Chefoo to Asan, a port lying a little 
southwest of Seoul, where it encamped. 

In the treaty of Tien-tsin, both Japan and China agreed to with- 
draw their troops from the peninsula, neither power to send 
soldiers thither again, without giving to the other power pre- 
liminary notice of the intended action. In the present struggle, 
Japan has declared from the beginning that she intended to carry 
her action into Corea no further than the treaty of 1885 allowed, 
and the necessity for restoring order and stability required her to 
do. When these troops were sent, the stipulated notification to 
Japan it is declared, was delayed until after their departure. 



434 



ARMIES MOVE TO COREA. 



Actuated by distrust of Chinese motives, and looking to the pro- 
tection of her commercial interests and the safety of the Japanese 
residents and traders in Corea, the authorities at Tokio quickly 
followed by landing a force of six thousand troops on the western 
coast. A strong force was soon stationed in Seoul, for the pro- 
tection of the Japanese legation, and the approaches to the capital 
were securely occupied. 

Then began the diplomatic campaign, Japan seizing the oppor- 




MR. OTORI BEFORE THE COMMISSIONERS. 

tunity offered to insist on a final understanding with both China 
and the Corean government, regarding the matters which had 
long been the source of friction, and a constant menace to tran- 
quility in the peninsula. On June 28 a communication pa5.sed 
between Mr. Otori, the Japanese minister, and the Corean foreign 
office, regarding the tributary relations between Corea and China. 
To this the Corean government returned an evasive reply. July 
3, Mr. Otori laid before the Corean government in a courteouslj^ 



JAPANESE MAKE DEMANDS. 435 

worded note, the draft of a scheme of reforms which Japan pro- 
posed, as a remedy for the disorders of the country, under the 
foUowing five general heads : 

1. The civil government in the capital and in the provinces to 
be thoroughly reformed, and the departments arranged on a new 
basis under proper responsible heads. 

2. The resources of the country to be developed, mines opened, 
railways constructed, etc. 

3. The laws of the country to be radically reformed. 

4. The military establishments to be reorganized under compe- 
tent instructors, so as to render the country secure alike from 
internal disorder and external attack. 

5. Education to be thoroughly reformed on modern lines. 

Mr. Otori asked for the appointment of a commission to discuss 
details, and on July 10, unfolded before the three commissioners, 
in twenty-five proposals, the details of the contemplated reforms. 
They were of such a character as to weaken greatly the influence 
of the queen and the dominant Ming party. Personages of too 
great influence were to be removed ; the foreign customs estab- 
lishment to be abolished ; all foreign advisers to be dispensed 
with ; the resources of the country to be developed ; railways, 
telegraphs and a mint to be established ; the legal and judicial 
systems to be radically reformed, and a school system to be 
adopted, beginning with primary schools and culminating in uni- 
versities, with provisions for sending pupils abroad. 

These reforms were declared to be as essential to the true wel- 
fare of Corea and China, as to the interests of Japan. It being 
impossible, however, for the Coreans to effect them themselves, 
Japan proposed joint action on the part of herself and China with 
a view to the desired object. This proposal however, China curtly 
refused even to discuss, so long as any Japanese troops remained 
in Corea. She assured Japan that the peasant rebellion had been 
quieted, which was true in a sense, for the insurgents, after the 
landing of the Chinese regulars, had temporarily stayed their on- 
ward progress ; but the cause of the trouble still remained. From 
the moment of this deadlock we may date the unofficial beginning 
of the war. The formal declaration was not made until about 
two weeks later. 




JAPANESE ARMY ON THE MARCH. 



THE BEGINNINGS OF HOSTlIvlTlES. 



Japan Decides to Reform Corea without China's Aid— Corean Palace Guards Fire on the 
Japanese Escort of Minister Otori— Momentous Result of the Skirnysh— Announcement of 
Corean Independence— Tai-wen Kun as Prime Minister— The First Collision at Sea— Sinking 
of the Kow-shing— Fighting Around Asan— Defeat of the Chinese— Li Hung Chang Declares 
that the War Will Be Fought to the Bitter End— Japan's Formal Declaration of War- 
China's Response— The Conflict Begun. 

Failing to secure China's co-operation, Mr. Otori told the 
officials at Seoul that the government was now determined of her 
own accord to see the needed reforms carried out.j The Corean 
government still showing no disposition to acquiesce in his pro- 
posals, the Japanese minister determined to have a personal in- 
terview with the king, of whose sympathy with the policy of the 
Ming party, there was some doubt. The minister had regarded 
the reply of the Corean government to his demands as insolent, 
and knowing that its substance had been made known to the 
Corean officers, he felt an apprehension of violence toward him- 
self and the members of the legation. He therefore insisted on 
being accompanied by a strong escort of Japanese on the occasion 
of any further visits to the palace. 

On the morning of July 23, attended by this escort of Japanese 
guards, and accompanied by the father of the king, Mr. Otori set 
out from the legation for the purpose of having another inter- 
view with the Corean monarch.? As the minister with his fully 
armed escort approached the palace, they were fired upon by 
troops in the service of the Ming ministry, some of whom were 
stationed within the palace walls. The fire was promptly re- 
turned by the Japanese, and a sharp skirmish ensued which 
lasted twenty minutes. One Japanese cavalryman and two foot- 
soldiers were wounded ; while the Corean loss was seventeen 
killed and seventy wounded. When quiet was restored, the Jap- 
anese were in possession of the palace. The result of the fight 
was momentous — the complete overtln-ow of the Ming, or prx)- 
Chinese faction in the Corean government. 

(437) 



438 CHANGING THE GOVERNMENT. 

On the same day the Coreaii king formally announced his in- 
dependence of Cliina. One of his first acts was to request an in- 
terview with Mr. Otori, and before the interview had ended that 
day the Japanese ministers saw tlie Tai-wen Kun, father of the 
king, and formerly regent during the latter's minority, formally 
installed as prime minister and instructed to introduce adminis- 
trative reforms such as Japan had proposed. A written pledge 
was signed by* the king, guaranteeing that the remedying of 
social and political abuses should begin as soon as the proper 
machinery could be put in operation ; the old counsellors of the 
king were replaced by men believed to be in sympathy with pro- 
gressive principles. Japan on her part made herself responsible 
for the execution of these pledges. The part taken by the king 
in the reforms is somewhat uncertain. One of the most eminent 
authorities on Corean affairs has declared that the king himself 
cannot be looked upon as a potent factor in the struggle ; that he 
is a weak, amiable, nervous man, whose only importance consists 
in the fact that he is a king and in the sanction that his presence, 
and authority, and seal may be considered to lend to the party 
with which he sides. He has not been on good terms with his 
father, and when the Japanese placed the latter in charge there 
was considerable uncertainty as to the results that would follow. 

The same day that this skirmish at the palace occurred between 
Corean and Japanese troops, a report was sent out which might 
have involved Great Britain in the eastern war. It was alleged 
that ill-treatment had been offered by the Japanese troops to the 
British consul-general at Seoul, Mr. Gardner and his wife. The 
assertion was that the Japanese troops forbade their passing the 
line of sentries which had been drawn around an encampment, 
and that unnecessary force had been used to accomplish this. 
The falsity of the charges, or the fact that they were very much 
overdrawn, was proved upon the first investigation, no regulations 
being in force except those natural and proper in such times. 

The situation in Corea developed very slowly. The ways of 
the east are not as the ways of the west, and one of the most 
deeply-rooted and highly -prized instincts which oriental diploma- 
tists have inherited from a long line of their ancestors is a pro- 
found belief in the merits of procrastination. 



SENDING TROOPS TO COREA. 



439 



The first important collision at sea occurred in Prince Jerome 
gulf, about forty miles off Chemulpo, on July 25, one week be- 
fore the formal declaration of war./' Up to the night of July 19, 
the highest authorities at Tien-tsin did not anticipate war, but as 
a matter of watchful policy the war-office chartered the British 
steamers Irene, Fei Ching, and Kow-shing, belonging to the Indo- 
Chinese Steam Navigation company, and a number of Chinese 
merchant steamers, for the transportation of troops. The object 
was to transport the second division from Taku to Asan, to rein- 
force the Chinese army in that Corean city. The Irene was the 




PROCESSION IN SEOUL. 



first to leave Taku, July 21, with one thousand one hundred and 
fifty troops, with one of the owners and his wife on board; the 
other two vessels were to leave on the 22nd and 23rd. 

The Kow-shing was an iron vessel, schooner-rigged, of one thou- 
sand three hundred and fifty tons, built at Barrow and belonging 
to the port of London. She sailed from Taku July 23, with no 
cargo, but with one thousand two hundred Chinese troops on 
board. All went well with the transport until the second morn- 
ing, July 25, when about nine o'clock the vessel was sighted by a 
Japanese man-of-war, the Naniwa Kan. The Naniwa was accom- 



440 ATTACK ON THE KOW-SHING. 

panied by two other men-of-war, one of which was the Matsusima, 
on board of which was the Japanese admiral. The Kow-shing 
was ordered by signal, " Stop where you are or take the conse- 
quences." She promptly anchored. Then the Naniwa steamed 
up and sent a boarding party to the Kow-shing. 

The officers in command made a strict scrutiny of the ship's 
papers, and after some liesitation as to his course of action, per- 
emptorily ordered the Kow-shing to follow. This caused great 
excitement amongst the troops, who said to the English officers 
of the ship, *' We refuse to become prisoners and would rather 
die here. If you move the ship, except to return to China, we 
will kill you." The Japanese having returned to their own ves- 
sel, the European officers on the Kow-shing argued with the 
Chinese to convince them that it would be wiser to surrender, 
thus saving the life of all and the ship itself. These arguments 
had no effect on the Chinese, and the Kow-shing then signalled to 
the Naniwa to send another boat. 

Captain Von Hannecken explained the situation to the Japanese 
boarding officer, pointing out that there had been no declaration 
of war, that the Kow-shing was a British ship under the British 
flag, and that owing to the position taken by the Chinese it was 
physically impossible for the officers of the vessels to obey the 
Naniwa's order. He claimed that the flag should be respected, 
and that the ship should be escorted back to the Chinese 
coast. The boarding party then returned to the Naniwa, which 
thereupon signalled " Quit the ship as soon as possible." The 
Kow-shing officers replied that it was impossible to quit the ship, 
owing to the threats of the Chinese. The Naniwa threw an 
answering pennant, and steamed quickly into position, broadside 
on, at a distance of about two hundred yards. Mr. Tamplin, the 
chief officer of the Kow-shing, tells a graphic story of the scene 
that followed. 

" The Chinese were greatly excited, and kept drawing theii 
fingers across their throats in order to show us what we might 
expect. The British officers, and Captain Von Hannecken, were 
anxiously gathered on the bridge, and the bodyguards were at 
the bottom of the ladder watching us like cats. Two executioners 
fully armed were told off to follow the captain and myself, and 



immmmm9mm^'-»<- ~r 



ifm^^Ji4tmMfJ-- '«i 




■ iifiifiumgiiiif ir iir 




SINKING OF THE KOW-SHING. 443 

they dogged us everywhere with drawn scepters. About one 
o'clock the Naniwa opened fire, first discharging a torpedo at the 
Kow-shing, which did not strike her. The man-of-war then fired 
a broadside of five heavy guns, and continued firing both heavy 
and machine guns from deck and tops until the Kow-shing sank 
about an hour later. The Kow-shing was first struck right amid- 
ships, and the sound of the crashing and splintering was almost 
deafening. To add to the danger, the Cliinese rushed to the 
other side, causing the ship to heel over more than ever. As soon 
as the Kow-shing was struck the soldiers made a rush. I rushed 
from the bridge, got a life-belt, and jumped overboard forward. 
While in the wheel house selecting a life-belt I passed another 
European, but I had no time to see who it was. It was a regular 
sauve qui pent. Mr. Wake, our third officer, said it was no use 
for him to take to the water, as he could not swim, and he went 
down with the ship. 

" After jumping into the water I came foul of the chain, down 
which the Chinese were swarming. As I came to the surface the 
boiler exploded with terrific noise. I looked up and saw Captain 
Von Hannecken striking out vigorously. Captain Galsworthy, 
the master of the vessel, was also close by, his face perfectly black 
from the explosion. All of us went in the direction of the island 
of Shotai-ul, which was about a mile and a half to the northeast, 
swimming through the swarm of dead and dying Chinamen. 
Bullets began to strike the water on every side, and turning to 
see whence they came, I saw that the Chinese herding around the 
only part of the Kow-shing that was then out of water, were firing 
at us. I was slightly hit on the shoulder, and in order to protect 
my head covered it with the life-belt until I got clear of the sink- 
ing vessel. When I succeeded in doing this, and got away from 
the swarms of Chinamen, I swam straight for the Naniwa. I had 
been in the water nearly an hour when I w^as picked up by one 
of the Naniwa's boats. While in the water I passed two Chinese 
warriors clinging to a sheep which was swimming vigorously. 
As soon as I was on board the Naniwa's boat, I told the officer in 
which direction the captain had gone, and he said that he had 
already sent another boat to pick him up. By this time only the 
Kow-shing's masts were visible. The water was however covered 



444 NAVAL BATTLES. 

with Chinese, and there were two lifeboats from the Kow-shiiig 
crowded with sokliers. The Japanese officer informed me that 
he had been ordered by signal from the Naniwa to sink these 
boats. I remonstrated, but he fired two volleys from the cutter, 
turned back, and steamed for the Naniwa. No attempt was made 
to rescue the Chinese. The Naniwa steamed about until eight 
o'clock in the evening, but did not pick up any other Europeans." 

The Irene, which had been the first vessel to leave Taku, her- 
self had a narrow escape from an attack. She sighted a war 
vessel at eleven o'clock on the night of July 23, but by at once 
putting out all her lights was enabled to escape, and reached 
Asan early the next morning. The Chinese cruisers Chih Yuen 
and Kwang Kai, and the training ship Wei Yuen were at anchor. 
The troops were at once disembarked, and about nine o'clock the 
same morning the Irene left for Chefoo, arriving at four o'clock 
the afternoon of the 25th. Being under orders to proceed to 
Chemulpo to bring back refugees, she sailed at noon the next day 
in company with the British ship Archer. When some distance 
from Chefoo, the Irene was hailed by the Fei Ching, and informed 
that the troop ship Kow-shing had been sunk by Japanese war 
vessels. It was decided to take the Irene into Wei-hai-wei and 
confer with Admiral Ting as to the advisability of her going to 
Chemulpo ; he advised her return to Chefoo. 

The same morning, July 26, the cruiser Chih Yuen arrived 
at Wei-hai-wei from Asan, and reported that shortly after leaving 
that port, the new Japanese cruiser Yoshino fired on her and her 
consort, the Kwang Kai, unexpectedly, and a shell, piercing the 
bow turret, exploded, killing the entire crew serving one gun, 
and disabling the turret. As soon as the Chih Yuen got a little 
sea-room, her steering-gear having been disabled, she maneuvered 
and fought with her stern gun, one shell from which swept away 
the entire bridge of her opponent. A second shell striking the 
same place, the Japanese ceased firing and hoisted a white flag 
over a Chinese ensign, but Captain Hong, of the Chih Yuen, 
having his bow guns and his steering gear disabled, and other 
Japanese coming up, decided to make for Wei hai-wei and report 
to the admiral. The first lieutenant of the Chih Yuen was 
speaking through the tube, directing the men, when a shot struck 



SINKING OF THE KOW-SllING JUSTIFIED. 445 

him and he fell dead. Twelve of the crew were killed and thirty 
wounded. The Japanese vessel suffering somewhat less. 

The Kowshing affair caused a complete change in the attitude 
of the Chinese government and in the foreign mind. The viceroy, 
Li Hung Chang, declared in an interview that if war was once 
provoked, China would fight to the bitter end. Japan was at- 
tacked in the European press for having sent a British ship to the 
bottom, even though it were loaded with Chinese soldiers, inas- 
much as war had not been declared. The Japanese government 
at once instructed the minister in London to apologize to Great 
Britain for firing on the British flag, wliicli was floating over the 
Kow-shing, and it was talked in every quarter that a heavy in- 
demnity would be required from Japan. As further details be- 
came known, however, European anJ American sentiment began 
to shift. A British consular court of inquiry called to investigate 
the matter, decided that inasmuch as the two nations were virtu- 
ally in a state of war at the time, though no formal declaration 
had been made, the Japanese commander was justified in his 
action on the ground that the Kow-shing was violating neutrality. 
The demand for an indemnity was practically abandoned on ac- 
count of a clause contained in the ship's charter to the effect 
that in the event of an outbreak of hostilities between China and 
Japan, the Kow-shing should be considered Chinese property. 
The case was therefore ended, so far as the action of nations out- 
side of China and Japan was concerned. Less than two hundred 
were saved, out of nearly twelve hundred souls who were on 
board the vessel. French, German, and Italian gunboats which 
were cruising near, brought to Chefoo the few Chinese survivors, 
and several of the European officers were saved by the Japanese. 
Captain Von Hannecken was rescued by a fisherman's boat, and 
made his way back to China. 

Immediately following the date of these sea battles, hard fight- 
ing began at and around Asan, where the body of Chinese troops 
was intrenched. Early on the morning of July 29 the Chinese 
troops, who had left their fortifications at Asan, were attacked by 
General Oshima, the commander of Japanese armies in Corea, at 
Seikwan. The Japanese gained a decisive victory. After a hard 
fought battle in which one hundred Chinese were killed and five 



446 FIGHTING AROUND ASAN. 

hundred wounded, out of twenty-eight Imndred troops engaged, 
while the Japanese lost less than one hundred, the Chinese were 
forced back tuwards Asan, their entrenchment at Chan Hon having 
been captured. During the night the Chinese evacuated Asnn, 
abandoning large quantities of ammunition and some guns, and 
fled in the direction of Koshu. When the Japanese reached 
Asan ear]}' in the morning of the 30th they found the trenches 
deserted. Many flags, four cannon, and a quantity of other 
munitions of war were captured, and the victorious troops took 
possession of the enemy's headquarters. 

Elated by the results of the actions which had occurred, Japan 
was now hurrying troops into the field. Thousands of soldiers 
were shipped in transports and stationed in Chemulpo, in Seoul, 
along the Great Northern road in Fusan, and finally around 
Asan, sixty miles south of Chemulpo, out of which the Chinese 
had just been driven. Three attempts at mediation had been 
made with a desire to avert war by diplomatic interference, first 
by Russia, then by England, and lastly by England su2)ported by 
all the powers, but Japan was ready and anxious to prove her 
prowess over her ancient enemy, and to show to western nations 
the strength that she had acquired ; while there were ample and 
stuong reasons which appeared to the Japanese worthy ones why 
they should wage war upon China. They asserted that the best 
interests of civilization and humanity demanded this action and 
the time had come to begin. Belligerent acts had multiplied and 
formal action became necessary, without further delay, August 
3 was the important date which marked the formal beginning of 
warlike operations. 

The announcements to the world that an oriental war was 
actually to be waged, were in every way characteristic of the 
people and the habits of the two belligerent nations. Each one 
took pains to dechire its power and the age of the reigning 
dynasty. Japan however took its greatest pride, very evidently, 
in the advance of its civilization, and the introduction of western 
methods in diplomacy as well as elsewhere. China, on the other 
hand, was more verbose, and at the same time very scornful of 
the fighting strength of the ancient rival. Each of course took 
pains to justify her own actions and cast all the odium of the war 
on the other. 



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JAPAN'S DECLARATION OF WAR. 449 

Japan's formal declaration of war appeared in the " Official 
Gazette," and in substance was as follows : 

"We, by the grace of heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on a 
throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, do 
hereby make proclamation to all our loyal and brave subjects as 
follows : We hereby declare war against China, and we command 
each and all of our competent authorities, in obedience to our 
wish, and with a view to the attainment of the national aim, to 
carry on hostilities by sea and land against China, with all the 
means at their disposal, consistently with the law of nations. 

" Over twenty years have now elapsed since our accession to the 
throne. During this time we have consistently pursued a policy 
of peace, being deeply impressed with a sense of the undesir- 
ability of being in strained relations with other nations, and have 
always directed our officials diligently to endeavor to promote 
friendship with all the treaty powers. Fortunately our inter- 
course with the nations has continued to increase in intimacy. 

" We were therefore unprepared for such a conspicuous want 
of amity and of good faith, as has been manifested by China in 
her conduct towards this country in connection with the 
Corean affairs. Corea is an independent state. She was first in- 
troduced into the family of nations by the advice and under 
the guidance of Japan. It has however, been China's habit to 
designate Corea as her dependency, and both openly and secretly 
to interfere with her domestic affairs. At the time of the recent 
civil insurrection in Corea, China dispatched troops thither, 
alleging that her purpose was to afford succor to her dependent 
state. We, in virtue of the treaty concluded with Corea in 1882, 
and looking to possible emergencies, caused a military force to be 
sent to that country, wishing to procure for Corea freedom from 
the calamity of perpetual disturbance, and thereby to maintain 
the peace of the east in general. Japan invited China's co-opera- 
tion for the accomplishment of that object; but China, advancing 
various pretexts, declined Japan's proposal. 

" Thereupon Japan advised Corea to reform her administra- 
tion, so that order might be preserved at home, and so that the 
country might be able to discharge the responsibilities and duties 

of an independent state abroad. Corea has already consented to 
22 



450 CHARGES AGAINST THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM. 

undertake the task, but China has insidiously endeavored to cir- 
cumvent and thwart Japan's purpose. She has further procras- 
tinated and endeavored to make warlike preparations, both on 
land and at sea. When these preparations were completed, she 
not only sent large re-enforcements to Corea with a view to the 
attainment of her ambitious designs, but even carried her arbi- 
trariness and insolence to the extent of opening fire upon our 
ships in Corean waters. 

** China's plain object is to make it uncertain where the respons- 
ibility resides for preserving peace and order in Corea, and not 
only to weaken the position of that state in the family of nations 
—a position obtained for Corea through Japanese efforts— but 
also to obscure the significance of the treaties recognizing and 
confirming that position. Such conduct on the part of China is 
not only a direct injury to the rights and interests of this empire, 
but also a menace to the permanent peace and tranquility of the 
Orient. Judging from her action, it must be concluded that 
China from the beginning has been bent upon sacrificing peace to 
the attainment of her sinister objects. In this situation, ardent 
as our wish is to promote the prestige of the country abroad by 
strictly peaceful methods, we find it impossible to avoid a formal 
declaration of war against China. It is our earnest wish that by 
the loyalty and valor of our faithful subjects, peace may soon be 
permanently restored, and the glory of the empire be augmented 
and completed." 

China promptly accepted the issue thus formally raised, and 
published a declaration in substance as follows : 

"Corea has been our tributary for the last two hundred odd 
years. She has given us tribute all of this time, which is a matter 
known to the world. For the last dozen years or so Corea has 
been troubled by repeated insurrections ; and we in sympathy 
with our small tributary have as repeatedly sent succor to her aid, 
eventually placing a resident in her capital to protect Corea's in- 
terests. In the fourth moon (May) of this year, another rebellion 
was begun in Corea, and the king repeatedly asked again for aid 
from us to put down the rebellion. We then ordered Li Hung 
Chang to send troops to Corea, and tliey having barely reached 
Asan, the rebels immediately scattered, but the ' Wojeii (iho 



CHINA'S PROMPT RESPONSE. 451 

ancient epithet for the Japanese expressive of contemp trans- 
lated ' pigmies ' or more strictly according to usage ' vermin '), 
without any cause whatever sent their troops to Corea and en- 
tered Seoul, the capital of Corea, re -enforcing them constantly 
until they have exceeded ten thousand men. 

" In the meantime the Japanese forced the Corean king to 
change his system of government, showing a disposition in every 
way of bullying Coreans. It was found a difficult matter to 
reason with the ' Wojen. ' Although we have been in the habit 
of assisting our tributaries, we have never interfered with their 
internal government. Japan's treaty with Corea was as one 
country with another. There is no law for sending large armies 
to bully a country in this way and to tell it to change its system 
of government. Various powers are united in condemning the 
conduct of the Japanese, and can give no reasonable name to the 
army she now has in Corea. Nor has Japan been amenable to 
reason, nor will she listen to an exhortation to withdraw her 
troops and confer amicably upon what should be done in Corea. 
On the contrary, Japan has shown herself belligerent without 
regard to appearances, and has been increasing her forces there. 
Her conduct alarmed the people of Corea as well as our mer- 
chants there, and so we sent more troops over to protect them. 
Judge of our surprise then, when half way to Corea a number of 
the ' Wojen ' ships suddenly appeared, and taking advantage 
of our unpreparedness opened fire on our transports at a spot on 
the sea coast near Asan, and damaged them, thus causing us to 
suffer from their treacherous conduct which could not be foretold 
by us. 

" As Japan has violated the treaties and not observed the inter- 
national laws, and is now running rampant with her false and 
treacherous actions, beginning hostilities herself, and laying herself 
open to condemnation by the various powers at large, we, there- 
fore, desire to make it known to the world that we have alwavs 
followed the paths of philanthropy and perfect justice through- 
out the whole complications, while the ' Wojen ' and others have 
broken all the laws of nations and treaties which it passed our 
patience to bear with. Hence we command Li Hung Chang to 
give strict orders to our various armies to hasten with all speed 



452 CHINA'S ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE NATIO¥S. 

to root the ' Wojeii ' out of their lairs. He is to send successive 
armies of valiant men to Corea, in order to have the Coreans 
freed from bondage. We also command Manchoo generals, vice- 
roys, and governors of the maritime provinces, as well as the 
commanders in chief of the various armies to prepare for war and 
to make every effort to fire on the ' Wojen ' ships if they come 
into our ports, and utterly destroy them. We exhort our generals 
to refrain from the least laxity in obeying our commands, in order 
to avoid severe punishment at our hands. Let all know this edict 
as if addressed to themselves individually." 

Immediately following China's declaration of war, the Chinese 
Imperial Foreign Office addressed an important circular letter to 
the ministers of the various European countries, and of the 
United States, to be forwarded to their respective governments. 
The message began abruptly with tlie announcement that some 
time ago a rebellion broke out in the district of Chung in Corea, 
and the king of that country sent a written application for 
Chinese assistance through Li Hung Chang, Viceroy of the 
North. 

" Our Imperial Majesty," the message continued, *' considering 
that on previous occasions rebellion in Corea had been suppressed 
by our assistance, dispatched troops, which did not however 
enter Seoul, but went direct to the scene, with a view to ex- 
terminating the rebellion. At the first rumor of their approach 
the rebels dispersed, and our army, having brought merciful 
relief to the distressed people, meditated a victorious retirement. 
To our astonishment Japan also dispatched troops to Corea, pre- 
tending that it was for the purpose of assisting to quell the 
rebellion, but their real object being to occupy Seoul, whicli they 
did, posting themselves at all the important passes. They con- 
tinued to re-enforce themselves, until the number of their troops 
rose to upwards of ten thousand, when they demanded that 
Corea should repudiate her allegiance to China, and declare her- 
self independent. Japan further drew up many rules and 
regulations for the alteration of the Corean government, which 
they required the king to conform to in every detail. That 
Corea has been a dependency of China from time immemorial is 
known to all the world, and therefore when your diffeient 



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CHINA BECLAPvKS SHE HAS BEEK FAIR. 455 

respective governments establislied treaties with that nation, 
such treaties were approved and recorded by ourselves. For 
Japan to ignore this in so high handed a manner, is an offense 
against the dignity and authority of China, and a grave breach 
of the pre-existing harmonious relations." 

The message comments upon the doubtful right of any country 
to interfere with the internal administration of the affairs of the 
neighboring states, and adds that while friendly counsel and 
exhortation may sometimes be permissible, the enforcement of 
suggestions of reform by direct and strenuous coercion and 
armed invasion cannot be tolerated. It is impossible, the mes- 
sage declares, for China to submit to such ignominious treatment, 
which would be equally intolerable to any of the respective 
governments to which the message is addressed. Reference is 
next made to the efforts of the British and Russian governments 
through their representatives to induce Japan to withdraw her 
forces from Seoul, thus making possible the peaceful negotiation 
of Corean affairs. 

" This," says the circular, " was an extremely fair and just 
proposal, but Japan stubbornly refused to take it into considera- 
tion, and on the contrary strengthened her forces to such an 
extent that the people of Corea and resident Chinese merchants 
there became daily more alarmed and disturbed. China, out of 
consideration for the commendable efforts of the different govern- 
ments to effect a peaceful solution of the Corean question, 
rigidly abstained from any act of bloodshed, which would have 
led to great suffering and serious injury to commerce, and though 
it became necessary to send further forces for the protection of 
the country, we placed them at a careful distance from Seoul, 
studiously avoiding a collision with the Japanese troops, which 
would have occasioned the commencement of hostilities. Not- 
withstanding all this, and by a most unexpected and treacherous 
scheme, the Japanese on July 25, collected a number of their 
war vessels outside the port of Asan, and began hostilities by 
firing on our transports and attacking and sinking the British 
steamer Kow-Shing, flying the English flag. Thus, therefore, the 
commencement of the war on their part was beyond all justification, 
and China, having done her utmost hitherto to preserve the good 



456 CHINA'S JUSTIFICATION OF HER COURSE. 

fell;)\vsliip of nations, can carry forbearance no further, but feels 
constrained to adopt different counsels and to take effectual 
measures for the management of affairs. 

" We anticipate," says the message in conclusion, " that the 
various governments of the world will hear of these extraordinary 
proceedings with wonder and surprise, but they will know where 
to lay the entire blame attaching to them. This full statement 
of the circumstances under which Japan has iniquitously and 
unlawfully commenced war, is presented to your excellency for 
communication to your respected government for its inspection." 

The two great nations of the orient were now at war, one with 
forty millions of inhabitants, the other with four hundred millions, 
fighting on the soil of their helpless neighbor, a nation which was 
to act as little more than a buffer for the shock of war from either 
Bide to strike. 



FROM ASAN TO PING- YANG. 



Preparations for War in tlie Two Nations— Activity to Provide Defense for Southern 
China— Chinese Arsenals— War Spirit Among tlie Japanese— Armies of China, Their Organ- 
ization and Administration— Burdens Upon Li Hung Chang— IManner of Campaign Followed 
by Chinese Armies— Seelcing a Commander for the Cliinese Troops in Corea— Complications 
with European and American Interests— Trade Relations— The Chung king Affair— Arrest 
of Japanese Students in Shanghai— Efforts of American Representatives to Save Their 
Lives— Delivered to the Chinese by Order from Washington— Tortured to Death— Operations 
in Corea— The Masterly Retreat from Asan— Engagements in the North— The Lines of the 
Japanese Drawing Around Ping-Yang. 

As soon as the formal declaration of war was made public in 
the rival nations, the preparations for aggression and defense 
which had been in progress in China for a few weeks, and in 
Japan for several months, began to be multiplied with unceasing 
activity. The conditions which existed in the two nations were 
very different, and required different treatment. 

Immediately following the outbreak of hostilities, the viceroy 
at, Canton, Li Han Chang, brother of Li Hung Chang, began to 
make great efforts to put the southern part of the empire in some- 
thing like an efficient state of defense. The first definite word of 
warning that reached him, through an official channel, was a 
cipher telegram from Peking informing him of the sinking of the 
Kowshing and the other engagements on sea and land, immedi- 
ately prior to July 30. Li Han Chang was mainly responsible 
for the series of indignities which led to the resignation of the 
last British officers remaining in the Chinese naval service in 
1891, so that China's defeat at sea was to a certain extent his 
fault. For this reason he was placed in a position to be peculiarly 
anxious to make a good showing now. It was incumbent upon 
him to send forces to Formosa, the favorite point of attack in 
every important war that has been waged against China, and also 
to guard practically the whole southern coast, of which Canton 
with the naval station and arsenal at Whampoa, forms the princi- 
pal point. 

In times of peace the defenses of Canton consist of the south- 

(457) 



458 CONDITION OF CHINESE DEFENSES. 

em squadron, the river forts, and the ^Manchoo or Tartar gar- 
rison, supposed to number four thousand, but really of very in- 
definite strength. The sqadron at this time, however, was in the 
north, except about a dozen river gunboats, belonging to the navy 
and various revenue offices. The forts were in fairly satisfactory 
state, although insufficiently supplied for war, and the army 
sought recruits to increase its numbers as raj)idly as possible. 
The investigation of the Whampoa arsenal, however, was highly 
unsatisfactory as to its results. When orders were given to the 
various arsenals to get to work building ships and making guns, the 
Shanghai and Nanking stations were found in readiness, and the 
Foochow arsenal, the largest and only one that had ever done 
any shipbuilding on a serious scale, was also in reasonably good 
condition. But Whampoa arsenal was in a lamentable state of 
unfitness, and all that remained of it was its naval training col- 
lege, torpedo depot, and warehouse for guns and ammunition. 
The responsible officials whose negligence and dishonesty had 
resulted in this unfortunate condition, had good cause to antici- 
pate severe punishment. 

In the north of China, where the administration had been more 
closely under the eye of Li Hung Chang, things were in some- 
what better condition, although still not what they ought to be 
to meet a great war. 

The Japanese nation at the same moment presented a rare 
spectacle. To a man, ay, to a woman, the whole people were for 
war to the knife. They scarcely knew, nor did they greatly care, 
for what, but having been without the luxury of a serious foreign 
war for two hundred or three hundred years, their military and 
patriotic spirits were raised over the invasion of Corea and the 
prospective conflict with China, j Never was a stronger antithesis 
than that between Japanese and Chinese at the beginning of this 
conflict. It was the perfection of order and of precision against 
slovenliness and carelessness ; the pitting of a trained athlete 
against a corpulent brewer who hated fighting. China has in her 
history had good soldiers, but her system does not produce nor 
encourage them. Despised by the literary class, which has been 
in absolute control of everything, the soldier, having little chance 
of fame, and feeling himself as belonging to a degraded class, has 



THE JAPANESE WAR SPIRIT. 459 

taken naturally to pillage. If he has hoped to succeed to honors, 
it has been as likely to be by corrupt interest as by meritorious 
service, for the Chinese have had no appreciation of militar}^ 
excellence. Of course an army, however numerous, composed of 
such unkindly material, is but a mob, and if the Chinese had the 
spirit of soldiers they lacked the arms, for in a service built up 
on corruption it was natural to expect that the funds allotted for 
equipment would find other destinations. 

After the war broke out, immense efforts were made by Japan 
in mobilizing troops and transporting them across the straits to 
Corea. The reserve was called out, and from every house and 
every shop some one was drafted to serve with the colors. So 
perfect, however, was the machine, that all this was accomplished 
without the least visible disturbance to the internal business of 
the country, and with such secrecy that it was only through 
reports of trains full of troops passing at night, and occasional 
train loads of war material, that any inkling was obtained of 
what was going on. The embarkation was kept equally secret, 
even when whole fleets of transports were engaged. 

One was constrained more and more to admire the organization 
of the Japanese, and the perfect order which everywhere pre- 
vailed. In a country so strictly policed, the police need never be 
called on to quell a disturbance, and the force itself constituted 
another military reserve, drilled and disciplined for any service. 
So complete was their network of armed watchmen, that a spar- 
row could hardly cross the road without its name and destination 
being recorded in the archives of the prefecture. Everything 
about every individual, whether foreign or native, was known to 
this intelligent government. Every foreigner's house was 
frequented by spies, in the guise of peddlers or servants, who 
reported minutely to their official employers. It was the same 
abroad. Japanese spies had examined every Chinese ship and 
fort, had measured the fighting power of every Chinese regiment. 
Japan knew the rottenness of Chinese naval and military adminis- 
tration better perhaps than the Chinese themselves. Japan was, 
in short, one great intelligence department, and it began to prove 
in a most unexpected way that " knowledge is power." 

Coming fresh from Japan to Tien-tsin, the port of Peking, 



460 esptonaCtE tn japan. 

wlienco the direction of tlie war was to be carried on, one would 
be astounded at tlie aspect of China. The Celestial Empire in 
war times contrasted so completely with its hostile neighbor that 
one might imagine oneself in another planet. The silent, stolid 
action of the one country and the confused bustle of the other 
were the strongly evident contrasts. Coming from war minis- 
tries, marine ministries, finance ministries, an executive as elabor- 
ate and perfect as the machinery of a gun factory, every indi- 
vidual knowing and doing his duty without hurry and without 
friction, into China where there were none of these things at all, 
one would be puzzled to conceive how an}^ war could be carried 
on between these countries except one of ultimate subjugation. 
China was in a sense full of troops, mostly disbanded without 
pay, but in such loose fashion as to enable them even to carry off 
the honors of war, in the shape of their rifles and accoutrements. 
Some of these had sought and found an honest living, but many 
had gone to swell the ranks of brigandage. The troops in active 
service belonged to the great sj^stem of sham in which China 
revelled. The levies on paper and on pay rolls bore no direct 
correspondence with either the men or the arms. Neither the 
army nor the navy was a fighting service, but a means of living ; 
and while generals, colonels and captains practicall}^ absorbed the 
naval and military expenditure, the custom of the country per- 
mitted the ranks to be robbed and starved, while those officials 
grew rich. 

Vast as were the numbers of the fighting men of China on pa- 
per, they were but a very small proportion to the huge population 
of that empire. The old Chinese army in its three divisions of 
Manchoo, Mongol, and native Chinese did not exceed the nominal 
strength of one million, and all the efforts of military reformers 
have been devoted to increasing the efficiency and not the size of 
that force. The Green Flag, or Luh-ying corps, still represented 
the bulk of the army, furnishing on paper a total of six hundred and 
fifty thousand men scattered through the nineteen provinces, ex- 
cluding the new province of Manchooria. It has been controlled 
by the local viceroys and governors who may in some instances 
have attempted to improve its efficiency, but as a general rule the 
force has had little or no military value. 



CHOICEST TROOPS OF CHINA. 461 

When the Tai-Ping^ rebellion was finally crushed, the Ever Vic- 
torious army was disbanded, and the Viceroy Li Hung Chang, took 
into his pay a considerable number of these disciplined and expe- 
rienced soldiers who had taken their part in a succession of re- 
markable achievements. When he was transferred to Pechili he 
took with him these men as a sort of personal bodj^guard, and 
with the avowed intention of organizing an armj^ that would bear 
comparison with European troops. He was engaged on this task 
for nearly twenty-five years. At the commencement this force 
numbered about eighteen thousand men. In 1872 the viceroy took 
into his service several German officers, who devoted themselves 
with untiring energy to the conversion of what was not unpromis- 
ing material into a regular army of the highest standard. The 
training of this force was carried on with the greatest possible se- 
crecy, and no European officers except those serving with it had 
any opportunity of forming an opinion. But it was known at the 
beginning of the war that the Black Flag army, as it was called, 
numbered about fifty thousand men. 

After Li Hung Chang's army, and scarcely inferior to it in 
strength and importance, came the two branches of the old Tartar 
army, both of which were recently subjected to some military train- 
ing, and more or less equipped with modern weapons. These were 
the old Banner army, and the army of Manchooria, the total 
strength of the former being some three hundred thousand. Up 
to a comparatively recent time nothing had been done to make this 
force efficient. Many of the troops were armed with nothing but 
bows and arrows, and a kind of iron flail. In the last fifteen years, 
however, part of the Banner army, called the Peking Field force, 
was organized by the late Prince Chun, father of the reigning em- 
peror and raised to a fair degree of efficiency. The second Tartar 
force, the army of Manchooria, contained some eighty thousand 
men who had received training and approximately modern weap- 
ons. Out of these, thirty thousand men, all armed with rifles, 
have made their headquarters at Mukden, the old capital of the 
Manchoos. 

The Japanese reproached the Chinese with having no commis- 
sariat. Neither had they telegraphs, ambulance, or hospital ser- 
vices. Their habit was to live on the country in which they hap- 



462 ADMINISTRATION OF THE WAR. 

peiied to be, and make it a desert. The Corean campaign was ex- 
pected to form no exception to this rule, and the plains in the 
northwest, in the region first occupied by the Chinese after the 
abandonment of Asan, were early deserted by their inhabitants. 
Yet there were exceptions to this metliod of procedure. The force 
that was sent under General Yeli to Asan to quell the insurrection 
there, treated the natives with kindness and were consequently 
much liked. The general had funds entrusted to him, to distrib- 
ute among the poor people who w^ere suffering from want, and 
miraculous to say he did not steal the money, but spent all, and 
even, it is said, some of his own, in benevolence to the Coreans. 

At the opening of the war the functions of a war ministry, ma- 
rine ministry, finance ministry, with their staff of experts, were in 
China discharged by one old man, without any staff, who had stood 
for thirty years between the living and the dead. The emperor 
issued edicts without providing the means of carrying them out ; 
all the rest, whether in gross or in detail, devolved on Li Hung 
Chang, who like another Atlas was bearing the whole rotten fabric 
of Chinese administration on his shoulders. 

The supreme command of the Corean expeditions was first of- 
fered to Liu MingChuan, who defended Formosa in 1884, but that 
astute old soldier declined on the ostensible ground of age and de- 
fective sight, but really because, as he said, peace would be made 
before he could reach Tein-tsin. The command was next offered 
to Liu Kin-tang, the real conqueror of Kashgar, for wliich the Gov- 
ernor-General Tso obtained the credit. He also declined, but was 
overruled by the emperor, and started from his home in the in- 
terior. His journey in the height of the summer heat was too 
much to endure, and he died in his boat before reaching the coast. 
The command was then entrusted to a civilian, Wu Ta-cheng, who 
distinguished himself in closing a great breach on the Yellow River 
some years ago, and who has lately been governor of Hu-nan. 
This promising official was therefore chosen to go to Corea as im- 
perial commissioner to command the generals, no one of whom 
had been in authority over another. 

It was natural to expect that complications would arise be- 
tween the belligerent nations and the European and American 
nations having commercial interests in the orient. Japan and 



TKADE COMPLICATIONS KISING. 465 

China had not been long enough acquainted with the rules of in- 
ternational comity and international war to be familiar with the 
exactions that would be made by the other nations which might 
be affected. The diplomatic representatives from the west lost 
no time in stipulating the neutrality of the more important 
treaty ports where foreigners were settled, and in arranging that 
certain branches of commerce should not be interfered with. 
Trade, however, was seriously affected and the price of coal 
doubled at one leap. China prohibited the export of rice from 
its own ports whence large quantities are usually shipped to 
Japan. Chinese lighthouses were darkened, and pilots were 
specifically warned not to assist Japanese vessels. 

The term contrabrand was found to apply to many articles the 
transport of which in time of peace gave employment to many 
steamers, mainly coal, rice, and materials for building and repair- 
ing ships. The British government published a declaration that 
rice would not be recognized as contrabrand, and the prices of 
grain and rates for freight and insurance ruled high. The whole 
trade was, therefore, dislocated, for the Yang-tsze is the chief 
granary for the far east. 

The British steamer Chungking suffered an aggression from 
the Chinese that drew upom them a severe rebuke and punish- 
ment. The vessel was at anchor in the harbor of Tongku, and 
among its passengers were sixty Japanese, many of them women 
and children, who were leaving China to return to Japan for safety 
during the impending troubles. While the vessel lay in the 
harbor a large number of Chinese soldiers forced their way on 
board with hostile intent. They began chasing the Japanese 
with threats of punishment, and the women and children fled to 
hide themselves. Many were found and were dragged from their 
places of concealment with violence. When they were found, 
their feet were tightly fastened together and their hands were tied 
behind their backs. They were then thrown upon the wharf, 
where they lay helpless, and several of them fainted under the 
severe treatment. As soon as the report of the outrage reached 
the superior officer commanding the district, he commanded the 
release of the victims, and the ship moved on to Shanghai where 
it arrived August 7. Vicero}^ Li Hung Chang tendered a most 



466 THE CHUNGKING CASE. 

humble apology to the British consul for the aggression, the sol- 
diers who committed the outrage were severely punished, and the 
officers who were responsible fur it were degraded and sent into 
the interior. 

The Japanese who were living in various Chinese treaty ports, 
engaged in business or connected v^^ith the various foreign con- 
cessions, took pains during the early period of the war to keep 
themselves as much as possible sequestered from Chinese view, 
to avoid giving offense to the people. Many of them had for 
years worn Chinese dress, and others now adopted the same cos- 
tume, thinking thus to lessen the danger to which they were un- 
doubtedly exposed. The Chinese authorities of Slianghai became 
convinced that the Japanese remaining there, under the protec- 
tion of various foreign flags, constituted so many menaces to the 
national security. Tlie precaution which the Japanese took in 
adopting Chinese costume, was made the pretext for a demand 
upon the consuls for the arrest of all who had resorted to it, but 
in each instance the demand was refused. 

The first complication of American diplomatic interests with 
those of China came in this connection. On the morning of 
August 18, two Japanese who were walking within the limits of 
the French concession were pounced upon by Chinese guards 
and carried off to prison, charged with being spies in the service 
of the Japanese government. The accused were young men of 
good position and repute, and it seemed without the opportunity 
of spying, even if they were prepared to take the risk. They 
were placed in prison, however, pending, it was explained, the ap- 
pointment of a proper tribunal to try them, and it was alleged by 
the Chinese authorities that there were found concealed about 
their clothes, plans of Chinese fortifications and cipher notes on 
Chinese movements. The following day the Japanese residing in 
Shanghai moved from the Chinese quarters into the American 
concession, where they placed themselves formally under the pro- 
tection of the United States. The two who were arrested were 
immediately handed over to the American consul-general at his 
demand, he agreeing to keep them until charges should be formu- 
lated and presented. After a careful examination of the merits 
of the case, the consul, Mr. Jernigan, and the United States min- 



UNDER UNITED STATES PROTECTION. 467 

ister to China, Mr. Denbj, became convinced that the charges 
were groundless, and that the young men were innocent of any guilt 
01' evil intent. They were mere boys, students at the schools 
maintained in the American and French concessions, where they 
had resided for many years. The fact that they were dressed in 
Chinese costume proved nothing, inasmuch as they had worn that 
costume for many years. The charges that plans and notes had 
been found upon them, were also discredited by the American 
representatives. Americans in private life in Shanghai, as well 
as Europeans, both in official and private position, united to sus- 
tain the position taken by the American representatives. These 
representations were submitted to the state department at Wash- 
ington, where Secretary Gresham gave them careful and painstak- 
ing review. He lost no time in deciding that the opinions of the 
diplomatic representatives of the United States, who were on the 
ground and able to make a personal investigation of the merits 
of the case, were worthless, and that the allegations of the 
Chinese officials were those which were to be accepted in their 
entirety. The result was that the United States consul-general 
at Shanghai was commanded by the state department at Wash- 
ington to surrender to the Chinese officials these students, without 
deLT,y. He did, however, delay sufficiently to make a strenuous 
protest against this action, offering further explanations why it 
should not be done, and in all he was sustained by the other dip- 
lomats in Shanghai. He declared that the surrender of these 
young men to China would be the signal for the torture, and that 
the only true wisdom and kindness would be to send them back 
to Japan. His protests were unavailing, and he was again in- 
structed to deliver them at once, only exacted from the Chinese 
a promise that they should have fair trial and kind treatment. 

To the distress of every friend of civilization in China, these 
two students were therefore surrendered to the Chinese, and two 
days later, after a trial which would be considered a mockery 
among ourselves, without the semblance of judicial fairness, they 
were condemned to death. The sentence was executed by means 
of the most shocking tortures which Chinese fiendish barbarity has 
been able to devise, to the horror of all foreigners living in that 
dark empire. The blot thus placed on American state-craft as ex- 



468 DISMAY OF THE JAPANESE. 

emplified in its first test during this war, can never be eradicated 
from the minds of those familiar with the circumstances of the 
sad case. 

The surrender of the two Japanese to the Chinese officials, by 
the United States consul-general, threw the Japanese of Shanghai 
into a state of the greatest consternation, as they had hitherto 
believed themselves to be perfectly secure under the protection of 
the American government. Their disma}^ was doubled a month 
later, when on October 8, the two students were tortured to 
death, in spite of the promise which had been made to Secretary 
Gresham by the Chinese minister at Washington, that they should 
be properly treated. The pledge given by the Chinese govern- 
ment was that these students should be treated as prisoners of 
war, and tried by a competent court, aftei* the manner of civilized 
countries ; and that their trial would be postponed until Colonel 
Denby, the United States minister, could be present. Informa- 
tion furnished to the American state department at Washington, 
its representative in China, the American minister and the Amer- 
ican consul-general at Shanghai, was to the effect that the young 
men were not spies, but were students in a commercial school 
established in Tokio with a branch at Shanghai, the chief object 
of which was to impart a knowledge of the commerce of China and 
Japan, and promote the trade relations between the two countries. 
Under date of September 1, Colonel Denby wrote to the secretary 
of state as follows : 

"To give up these boys unconditionally is generally believed to 
be to give them up to death. The viceroy of Nanking has, I am 
informed, already demanded of the taotai of Shanghai why the 
heads of the two spies have not been sent to him. They are 
judged and condemned in advance. The governor of Formosa has 
posted a proclamation offering prizes for Japanese heads. In a 
country where such a thing is possible, it is needless to inquire 
what chance a Japanese accused as a spy would have for his life. 
This case has attracted much attention in Japan. The American 
minister at Tokio telegraphed this legation that these men were 
innocent. Should any harm befall them, retaliation is inevitable. 
These young men have the fullest sympathy of all foreigners in 



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TESTIMONY OF AMERICAN DIPLOMATS. 471 

China, and the advice of the high officials of all nationalities has 
been not to give them up without conditions.'' 

Mr. Jernigan, the United States consul-general at Shanghai, 
wrote as follows : 

'^Had it been known to the Chinese authorities that the limits 
of my power as a protector of Japanese interests extended only to 
an inquiry after arrest, all tlie students, fifty, would have been 
summarily arrested, and it is believed here, as summaril}^ dealt 
with as were their two fellow students. I do not hesitate to con- 
clude that the delay caused by the course of this consulate gen- 
eral in the case of the two Japanese students, prevented the 
arrest of as many as two hundred Japanese upon mere suspicion, 
and has probably saved many from being executed and others 
from being held for ransom." 

With this sort of a warning before them, the remaining Jap- 
anese residents in Shanghai, who numbered about seven hundred 
persons, consequently determined to quit the place at the earliest pos- 
sible moment. The Yokohama Specie bank transferred its business 
for the time to a French bank and closed its doors. The Japanese 
storekeepers sold off their stocks with all speed, and prepared to 
leave in the first steamer for their native country. 

Let us turn now to the hostile operations in Corea involving 
the rival forces. In the last chapter the operations were related 
up to July 30, on which date the Japanese drove the Chinese 
troops out of their intrenched position at Asan. Five da3^s later, 
on the 4th of August, the conquerors re-entered Seoul in triumph, 
leaving the retreating Chinese to make their way to their friends 
far to the northward. Barbarous as it might have been in the 
Chinese to have no commissariat, they had in such an encounter 
the advantage in marching, and were able to make a retreat so 
successfully as to win the admiration of those who can recognize 
even that sort of merit. 

To understand the movements of forces from this period of the 
war, it must be remembered that we have to do with a single Jap- 
anese force, landing at Chemulpo and commanding and occupying 
Seoul, from which center the movements were carried on. There 
were, however, two Chinese forces, the original garrison of Asan, 
a port forty miles south of Seoul, and a large force advancing by 
23 



472 MOVEMENTS OF THE ARIMIES IN COREA. 

the road which enters Corea at its northwest corner at Wi-ju. 
Cliina anxious to meet and annihilate at one blow if possible her 
despised foe, threw the latter body of troops, drawn largely from 
the Mauchoo garrisons, into the Corean peninsula, where they ad- 
vanced about one hundred and seventy miles inside the border to 
the banks of the Tatong River at Ping-Yang. The Japanese were 
awaiting the shock a little to the north of Seoul, and such was the 
strength of their position that the Chinese, instead of advancing 
upon them, halted at the capital cit}^ of the province, Ping-Yang, 
assuming the defensive there and strongly fortifying it. One 
week after the capture of Asan and the beginning of the retreat 
of the Chinese, the van of the victorious army started from Seoul, 
marching towards Ping- Yang, one hundred and forty miles distant, 
whence they were destined five weeks later to be once more vic- 
torious in expelling the Chinese. 

General Yeh, with his four thousand Chinese, made, as has been 
said, a masterly retreat. Accompanied by many Coreans who 
joined his standard when he was compelled to abandon his unten- 
able position, he struck northeastward and after twenty-five days 
effected a junction with the Chinese main body at Ping- Yang, 
August 23. His column kept to the mountains, where travel was 
difficult, and it was harassed by the enemy all along the route. 
Nevertheless, the troops marched three hundred and fifty miles 
through this almost impassable country, breaking through the 
Japanese lines at Chong-ju, and reaching their friends at last. 

The Japanese army, advancing on Ping- Yang at the same time, 
was approaching that position by a course parallel with that of 
the Chinese, but to the westward of it. The opposing forces were 
near enough to one another that detached bodies frequently met 
in conflict, and the skirmishes resulting were reported by which- 
ever band happened to be victorious, as a brilliant victory for the 
army. Because of this condition of affairs, many battles were re- 
ported from one side or the other that were scarcely mentioned 
by the opponents, whichever force it might be, and the war spirit 
was thus constantly fed in China and Japan without anything of 
considerable importance really happening. 

About the middle of August the Japanese scouts pressing for- 
ward from Pongsan came across an advance guard of the Chinese, 



SKIRMISH AND BATTLE. 



473 



who had seized the telegraph line. A brisk skirmish ensued and 
the scouts fell back. A few days later the Chinese advance guard* 
numbering five thousand men, encountered the Japanese troops 
guarding the Ping- Yang passes, and drove them out. Two days 
later an advance was made on the Japanese skirmish lines, and 




FIRST SIGHT OF PING- YANG. 



the Japanese were again defeated, this time being turned back as 
far as Chung-hwa, some twenty miles south of Ping- Yang. 

When the Japanese troops started from Chemulpo and Seoul to 
advance on Ping- Yang, a force of thirteen transports, protected by 
a strong convoy of war vessels, also started for Ping-Yaug, carry- 



174 ADVANCE OF THE JAPANESE ON PING-YANG. 

ing some six thousand troops who were intended to cooperate 
with the forces advancing by land. On the 18th of August these 
troops were landed in Ping-Yang inlet, and they immediately be- 
gan their march up the cultivated valley of the Tatong River in 
the direction of the city. When the force had proceeded some 
distance, it was suddenly attacked by one thousand Chinese cav- 
alry, who succeeded in dividing the column into two parts. The 
Chinese artillery at the same time caused great havoc among the 
Japanese. The latter were thrown into complete disorder, and 
considerably reduced in numbers they fled to the seashore, pur- 
sued by the cavalry who cut down many of the fugitives. As 
they reached the coast the Japanese came within the shelter of 
the guns of their war vessels, and the Chinese were consequently 
compelled to desist from further pursuit. 

The land skirmishes of which mention has been made, involved 
none except the extreme van of the Japanese forces and the out- 
posts of the Chinese. ( The main body of the Japanese troops, 
some fifteen thousand strong, found that the daily rate of progress 
northward did not exceed six miles, so broken was the road by 
mountains and streams, the passage of which presented great ob- 
stacles^*^ This being the rate of advance, the army had pushed 
some ninety miles from Seoul, when it was decided that a change 
of military plan must be made. The Chinese assembling in such 
great force at Ping- Yang, by the union of the two armies, threat- 
ened Gensan, on the east coast of Corea. At Gensan there was 
an important Japanese colony, and from there a trunk road led 
southward to Seoul. The destruction of the colony, a flanking 
movement against the Japanese army, and an irruption of Chinese 
troops into the Corean capital, might have been the result of not 
including Gensan in the Japanese program of operations. A force 
of ten thousand men was accordingly transported to Gensan by 
sea, with instructions to move westward against Ping-Yang, tim- 
ing its advance and attack with those of the army from Seoul, 
whose progress northward was suspended to allow time for the 
passage and disembarkation of this column, and of the column 
which had been sent from Chemulpo into the Ping- Yang inlet. 

While these land operations were going on, there were also 
some naval movements under way, but the latter brought no very 



CONDTTIOXS IX CHINA AND JAPAN. 477 

definite results. A fleet of Japanese vessels, including a few iron 
clads and some mei chant steamships transformed into cruisers, 
made a reconiioissance of VVei-hai-wei and Port Arthur about the 
10th of August. A few shots were exchanged at long range be- 
tween the vessels and the forts at each of these places, and the 
fleet then withdrew. The operations were of little more import- 
ance than a mere ruse to draw fire and ascertain the position and 
strength of the enemy's guns. No submarine mines were ex- 
ploded, or torpedoes launched. At the request of the British ad- 
nnral, Sir Edmund Fremantle, the Japanese promised not to renew 
the attack upon Wei hai-wei or to bombard Chefoo without giving 
forty-eight hours' notice to him, so that measures might be taken 
to protect the lives of foreign residents. 

(The emperor of China, taking personal interest in affairs to 
greater extent than had been his custom, insisted on a full daily 
report of the warlike operations and plans. 1 He studied special 
official reports of the naval attack, and then wanted to know why 
liis commanders allowed the enemy's vessels to escape. All this 
time the Japanese fleet was patrolling the China sea, the Gulf of 
Pechili and the Corean Bay, trying to reach a conflict with the 
enemy, and to prevent tlie tribute of rice from going north. Tor- 
pedoes were placed in the entrance to Tokio Bay and Nagasaki 
harbor, to guard against an attack by Chinese war vessels. The 
war spirit in Japan lost none of its warmth. The detachments 
sent across the straits into Corea in August numbered nearly 
fifty thousand men, and early in September the total number of 
Japanese troops available for activity in the peninsula was nearly 
one hundred thousand. A war loan of ^50, 000, 000 was desired 
by the government, and so anxious were Japanese capitalists to 
subscribe for it that foreign subscriptions were refused and more 
than 180,000,000 were offered. 

Chinese efforts continued also in great degree, but the results 
were scarcely as happy. Troops to the same number could not 
be sent into Corea. A very long land march was required before 
the forces could reach the seat of war by way of Manchooria and 
it was useless to attempt transporting them by water, so carefully 
did the Japanese cruisers patrol the sea routes. 

Just at this time, when the lines were drawing closer and 



478 



COREAN-JAPANESE TREATY. 



closer for a decisive battle, the relations between Japan and 
Ccrea were more closely defined by a formal treaty of alliance 
signed at Seoul on August 26. The preamble of the treaty de- 
clared it to be the desire of the emperor of Japan and the king of 
Corea to determine definitely the mutual relations of Japan and 
Corea, and to elucidate the relations between Japan and China 




BRINGING IN THE WOUNDED. 



with respect to the peninsula. The body of the treaty consisted 
of three articles : 

*' The object of the alliance is the strengthening and perpetua- 
tion of the independence of Corea as an autonomous state, and 
tlie promotion of the mutual interests of Corea and Japan, by 
compelling the Chinese forces to withdraw from Corea, and by 



COREAN-JAPANESE TREATY. 479 

obliging China to abandon her claims to the right to dominate 
the affairs of Corea. 

" Japan is to carry on warlike operations against China both 
offensive and defensive ; and the Corean government is bound to 
afford every possible facility to the Japanese forces in their move- 
ments, and to furnish supplies of j)rovisions to them at a fair re- 
muneration, so far as such supplies may be needed. 

"The treaty shall terminate when a treaty of peace is con- 
cluded by Japan with China." 

(At this very time, however, the feeling of the Corean people 
against the Japanese was ver}^ intense and they were everywhere 
welcoming the Chinese as their friends./ Except the strongly 
guarded positions in the provinces of Seoul and Hwanghai and 
the country around the treaty ports which were under Japanese 
influence, the peninsula was in the possession of armed Coreans 
and Chinese. The Japanese Marquis Saionji landed at Chemulpo, 
August 28, to congratulate the Corean monarch on his declara- 
tion of independence, and the king showed every disposition to 
co-operate with the Japanese in their efforts to introduce reforms 
into his country. His Majesty appointed a commissioner to visit 
Japan and thank the mikado for his promises to restore peace, and 
to establish a stable government in Corea. He further issued a 
decree introducing several reforms, including religious freedom, 
the establishment of a diplomatic service, the abolition of slavery, 
economies in the public service, the abrogation of the law 
whereby the whole family of a criminal is punished, and the 
granting of permission to widows to marry again. 

Early in September the mikado established headquarters in 
Hiroshima with the ministers of war and marines and the general 
staff, deciding to direct the war operations from that city in the 
future. This had already been the place of assembly and em- 
barkation for the troops ordered to the seat of war. At the same 
time Field Marshal Count Yamagata left for Corea to assume 
sole command of the Japanese army, which had now been aug- 
mented till its numbers were approximately one hundred thousand. 
Lines were drawing about the Chinese forces nearer and nearer. 
The indecisive battle which they had fought with the Japanese 
on August 16 had availed them nothing, and all their available 
troops were now massed together in Hwang-ju and Sing-chuen. 



480 



CLOSING IN FOR BATTLE. 



/ As the three advancing columns of Japanese diew nearer to 
the lines of the enemy, engagements multiplied and scarcely a 
day passed without some sort of a skirmish, ^z The three divisions 
struck the Chinese simultaneously on September 5 and 6. The 
troops from Chemulpo struck the Chinese center at Chung-Hwa; 
those from Gensan came up with their enemies at Sing-chuen, 
where the left flank of the Chinese was strongly intrenched ; and 
the detachment from the mouth of the Tatong struck the right 
flank of the Chinese at Hwang-ju. The results from all of these 
engagements were favorable to the Japanese, and the Chinese 
were forced back in confusion upon Ping- Yang where they united 




THE MIKADO REVIEWING THE ARMY. 



to give final battle. In the retreat, the column advancing from 
the Tatong again caught up with the Chinese on the 7th and an- 
other stubborn engagement was fought. The Chinese did not 
give way until they were in danger of being surrounded, when 
they fled in redoubled haste towards Ping- Yang. 

With the Chinese forces in Corea thus surrounded by the Jap- 
anese, after the sharp campaign ; and the Chinese fleet of war- 
ships in perfect fighting trim collected at Wei-hai-wei, the time 
was now at hand for the two important conflicts, one on land and 
one at sea, which resulted in mid-September in the entire victory 
of the Japanese. 



THE FIRST GREAT BATTLES OF THE WAR. 



Concentration of Japanese Troops to Threaten Ping-Yang— Plan of Attack— Poor De- 
fenses in the Rear of the Chinese Positlon—Niglit advance on the Enemy— Swift and Effective 
Victory— Chinese Commander Killed— Thousands of Prisoners Taken— Rejoicings in Japan 
—Honors for the Dead Cliinese Commander— Second Great Conflict in a Week— The Naval 
Battle of the Yalu River— Another Victory for the Japanese Fleet— Many War Ships De- 
stroyed—Hundreds of Sailors Drowned in Sinking Vessels— Carnage and Destruction— Ela- 
tion of the Japanese over two Successive Victories— Depression in the Chinese Capital and 
Criticism of the Chinese Viceroy, Li Hung Chang. 

The first serious engagement between the Chinese and the Ja- 
panese forces in Corea resulted, as competent judges foresaw all 
along, in the complete victory of the 
latter. The great battle was fought 
and won. The Chinese were utterly 
routed. The strong position of Ping- 
Yang lying just north of the Tatong 
river, on the road from Seoul to the 
frontier at the mouth of the Yalu 
river, was carried by assault in the 
small hours of Sunday morning? 
September 16. ^The Chinese troops 
who held it were utterly defeated, 
with a loss in killed, wounded, and 
prisoners, estimated at nearly four- 
fifths of their entire force. 

On Thursday morning, September 
13, began the attacks which resulted 
two days later in the brilliant victory. 
Three columns of Japan&se troops 
had been centering for this attack for 
some weeks. The first of these came 
from Gensan, threatening a flank 
attack. The column marched from 
this port on the Sea of Japan almost directly west, approaching 
Plug- Yang by way of the mountain passes. The center column 

(481) 




COREAN POLICE AGENT. 



482 



QUALITIES OF JAPANESE ARMIES. 



came from Pongsaii almost directly south of Ping Yang. The 
third column landed at Hwang-ju near the mouth of the Tatong 
river, and occupied a position to the westward of Ping- Yang on 
the right flank of the Chinese troops. 

The infantry and artillery of the Japanese were in a high state 
of efficiency. The men themselves were hardy, active, brave 
and intelligent. Their drill and discipline had been carefully 
adapted from the best European models. Their arms were of the 
latest and most destructive patterns that science has been able to 




JAPANESE KITCHEN IN CAMP. 



devise, and every detail in their equipment and accoutrements had 
been thoroughly thought out and carefully provided. The offi- 
cers who had the skill and the energy to create such a force were 
of course worthy to lead it. All of them had made scientific 
study of their profession, and some of them had spent years in 
close investigation of the more famous European military systems, 
under the guidance of distinguished strategists. But while it 
was generally anticipated that such an army, so led, would have 
an easy task in defeating and dispersing any force wliich tlie 
Chinese were likely to assemble against it at short notice in Corea, 



PRELIMINARIES OF THE BATTLE. 483 

it was by no means certain that the Japanese could force an en- 
gagement before the Corean winter made serious operations im- 
practicable. The Japanese commander showed that he had mas- 
tered the great secret of modern warfare. He knew how to move 
his troops with rapidity and with decision, and doing so he succeeded 
in dealing a heavy blow to China with trifling loss to himself. 

The position held by the Chinese was one of great natural 
strength. Doubtless on this account it was protected by old 
works, which the Chinese had supplemented by new defenses. 
True, however, to the extraordinary practice so often adopted by 
the Chinese armies, they neglected to secure their rear to any ade- 
quate degree. The Japanese, who had fought the Chinese before, 
foresaw that this would be the case, and planned their measures 
accordingly. 

Thursday the Japanese column from Pongsan, the centre, made 
a reconnoissance in force, drawing the fire from the Chinese fort, 
and ascertaining accurately the location of the defenses and the 
disposition of the troops. This having been accomplished, the 
Japanese forces fell back in good order and with very little loss, 
none of the other troops having entered the engagement. 

Friday was spent by the Japanese in taking up their final po- 
sition, and by that evening all the Japanese forces were in posi- 
tion for the combined attack, the Pongsan column facing the 
Chinese centre to bear the brunt, as in the preliminary fighting, 
and the others arranged as heretofore described. The Hwang-jii 
column had been re-enforced the day before by marines and blue 
jackets from the fleet at the mouth of the Tatong river. 

The battle opened Saturday morning at daybreak by a direct 
cannonade upon the Chinese works. This continued without 
cessation until the afternoon, the Chinese fighting their guns well 
and making good execution. At two o'clock in the afternoon a 
body of infantry was thrown forward, and these troops kept up a 
rifle fire upon the Chinese until dusk. The Japanese gained some 
advanced positions, but they mainly occupied the same ground as 
when the attack opened. Firing continued at intervals through- 
out the night. 

Neither of the flanking columns took any part in the heavy 
fighting during Saturday, and thus no opportunity was given to 



484 



PRELIMINARIES OF THE BATTLE. 



the Chinese of measuring the real number of the forces opposed 
to them or of ascertaining the real plans of the enemy. Through- 
out the day the Chinese held their own without much loss except 
to their defenses, and they retired to rest with the satisfied feeling 
of men who have not unsuccessfully opposed a formidable adver- 
sary. 

They had a rude 
awakening. During 
the night the two 
flanking columns 
drew a cordon around 
the Chinese forces, 
and at three o'clock 
on Sunday morning 
the attack was de- 
livered simultaneous- 
ly and with admira- 
ble precision. The 
Gensan and Hwang- 
ju columns were the 
ones who devoted 
themselves to the 
rear of the Chinese 
position, and the en- 
trenched troops sud- 
denly found them- 
selves exposed to at- 
tacks from the force 
they had fought dur- 
ing the day and from 
new forces of fresh 
troops of unknown 
numbers. 

The Chinese lines which were so strong in front, were found 
comparatively weak in the rear. The unsuspicious soldiers, taken 
completely by surprise, fell into panic and were cut down by 
hu nil reds. They were surrounded and at every point where they 
sought safety in flight they met the foe. It was of course a dis- 




JAPANESE SOLDIER SALUTING A FIELD CEMETERY. 





I f UM fT Mi - 




i 



I 



BRILLIANT VICTORY FOR THE JAPANESE. 



487 



grace to the Chinese leaders to be completely outmanoeuvred and 
surprised, but it was no disgrace to the Chinese soldiers to flee 
with but slight resistance when the surprise had been accom- 
plished by an enemy outnumbering them nearly three to one. 

The greatest Manchoo general, and some of the troops disci- 
plined under Li Hung Chang's directions on the European system, 
fought stoutly, stood their ground to the last, and were cut down 
to a man. But their stand was use- 
less. The Pongsan column, swarm- 
ing over the damaged defenses in 
the front, completed the discomfiture 
of the Chinese. Half an hour after 
the night attack opened, the splendid 
position of Ping- Yang was in tlie 
possession of the Japanese. 

The Japanese victory was brilliant 
and complete. They captured the 
whole of the immense quantities of 
stores, provisions, arms and ammuni- 
tion in the camp, besides hundreds 
of battle flags. The Chinese loss 
was about two thousand seven hun- 
dred killed and more than fourteen 
thousand wounded and prisoners. 
Less than a fourth of the Chinese 
army succeeded in escaping. The 
Japanese loss was thirty killed and 

two hundred and sixty-nine wounded, Japanese ambulance officer. 
including eleven oflicers. 

Among the officers of the Chinese killed was General Tso-pao- 
kwei, Manchoorian commander-in-chief of tlie army, who fought 
desperately to the last and was wounded twice. In this bat- 
tle also. General Wei Jink-woi, and General Sei Kinlin were 
captured and these practically comprise the effective Chinese 
staff. 

Within ten hours of tlie great battles of Ping- Yang, the 
engineers had completed the military field telegraph between that 
place and Pongsan, and had messages on the wires to Seoul. The 




488 



EFFECTS OF THE BATTLE OF PING-YANG. 



number of troops engaged in tlie battle on the side of the 
Japanese was about sixty thousand, and of the Chinese about 
twenty thousand, which in a measure explains and justifies the 
result of the conquest. 

The news of this battle was welcomed most enthusiastically in 
Japan, and rejoicings were held in Tokio and the other large 
cities. Bells were rung and salutes fired. Field Marshal Count 




CHINAMAN MUTILATING REMAINS OF JAPANESE SOLDIERS. 



Yamagata, in command of the Japanese troops, received congrat- 
ulations by telegraph from the emperor of Japan. 

The emperor of China had occasion to take different measures. 
An imperial edict was promulgated in which he expressed his 
profound regret at the death of General Tso, who was killed 
while gallantly leading the Chinese troops. The emperor ordered 
that posthumous orders should be paid to the deceased, befitting 
his rank as a provincial commander of the Chinese Em])ire. The 
^dict bestowed imperial favors upon the sons and family of the 



CHINESE FLEET AT THE YALU RIVER. 



489 



late general. After he had been severely wounded in the shoulder 
by a bullet, General Tso persisted in remaining at the head of his 
troops, and it was while leading his men in an unsuccessful charge 
that he was struck by another bullet and killed. 

Just one day after the rout of the Chinese from their defenses 
at Ping- Yang, another meeting between Japanese and Chinese 
took place not may miles from the same point, but the second 
battle was on sea instead of land, and its results were not as 
definitive as those of the battle of Ping-Yang. There remained 
room for each contestant to lay claim to certain phases of the 
victory. But the opinion of independent and impartial authorities, 
naval and military, has been that in the indirect results as well as 
the immediate lesson, Japan was well justified in claiming the con- 
test to be hers. 




THE PING-YUEN. 



Admiral Ting and his fleet were at Tien-tsin awaiting the 
orders of the Chinese war council which was sitting at that 
place. He was instructed to convoy a fleet of six transports to 
the Yalu river and protect them while landing troops, guns and 
stores at Wi-ju, from which base China intended to renew opera- 
tions in Corea. The transports were ready Friday, September 
14, and the following vessels escorted them to sea : Chen-Yuen 
and Ting-Yuen, speed fourteen knots, tonnage seven thousand 
four hundred and thirty ; King-Yuen and Lai-Yuen, sixteen and 
one-half knots, two thousand eight hundred and fifty tons ; Ping- 
Yuen, ten and one-half knots, two thousand eight hundred and fifty 
tons; Chill- Yuen and Ching-Yuen, eighteen knots, two thousand 
three hundred tons ; Tsi-Yuen, fifteen knots, two thousand three 



490 BEGINNING THE GREAT NAVAL BATTLE. 

hundred and fifty-five tons ; Chao Yung and Yang Wei, sixteen 
and one-half knots, one thousand three hundred and fifty tons ; 
Kwang Kai and Kwang Ting, sixteen and one-half knots, one 
thousand and thirty tons. The first five vessels iiamed were 
armored battle ships, the first two built in 1881.2, the third and 
fourth in 1887, and the fifth in 1890. The seven following were 
cruisers with outside armor, all of them built since 1881 and some 
as late as 1890. There were also in the fleet six torpedo boats 
and two gun boats. It is evident that the fleet was of modern 
construction, and without going into details as to the armament 
it may be said that the guns were equally modern in pattern. 

This splendid fleet arrived off the eastern entrance to the Yalu 
river on the afternoon of Sunday, September 16, and remained 
ten miles outside while the transports were to be unloaded. 
There were about seven thousand troops to be disembarked, com- 
posing the second Chinese army corps, which consisted almost en- 
tirely of Hunanese. The war council had realized that it was 
impossible to get the necessary re-enforcements to Corea with 
sufficient promptitude if they were marched overland, so the risk 
of sending them by transports was assumed. 

The work of disembarking troops and discharging stores pro- 
ceeded rapidly until about ten o'clock Monda}^ morning, Septem- 
ber 17. Very soon after that hour, the sight of a cloud of smoke 
upon the horizon indicated the approach of a large fleet. The 
enemy was at hand, and the battle was impending. Admiral 
Ting immediately weighed anchor and placed his ships in battle 
array. His position was a difficult one. If he remained near the 
shore, his movements were cramped. If he steamed out for sea 
room he ran the risk of a Japanese cruiser or torpedo boat 
running in amongst his transports. He chose the least of two 
evils and decided to remain near the shore. 

By noon it was possible to distinguish twelve ships in the 
approaching Japanese squadron. The Chinese fleet steamed in 
the direction of the enemv and at a distance of five miles was 
able to distinguish the ships according to their types. Admiral 
Ting signalled his ships to clear for action and then brought 
them into a V-shaped formation, with the flagship at the apex of 
the angle. The Japanese had at first approached in double line, 



FORMATION OF THE LINE OF BATTLE. 491 

but when Admiral Ito saw the formation adopted by his opponent 
he changed his fleet into single line and so went into action. 

The Ting- Yuen opened firing about twelve thirty P. M. at a 
range of five thousand seven hundred yards. The concussion of 
the first discharge threw every one off the bridge. As they came 
nearer, the Japanese appeared to form in quarter lines, to which 
the Chinese replied by turning two points to starboard, thus keep- 
ing their bows directed towards the enemy. Approaching within 
four thousand four hundred yards, the whole Japanese fleet 
seemed to turn eight points to port, thereby forming a single line 
ahead, and steaming across the Chinese line they turned its star- 
board wing. 

The Japanese manoeuvred swiftly throughout the battle, and 
the Chinese scarcely had a chance for effective firing from begin- 
ning to end. When the Japanese were firing at the starboard 
section of the Chinese squadron, the ships of the port section 
were practically useless, and could not fire without risk of hitting 
their own ships. The Japanese cruisers attacked first one sec- 
tion and then the other. As soon as the Chinese on the port side 
had brought their guns to bear and had attained the range accu- 
rately, the Japanese would work around and attack the starboard 
side. At times as many as five Japanese vessels would bring the 
whole weight of their armament to bear upon one Chinese ship, 
their consorts keeping the attention of the other vessels of that 
line fully engaged, while the ships of the diverging line lay look- 
ing on almost as useless as hulks in the water. 

As compared with that of the Japanese, the fire of the Chinese 
was very feeble and ineffective. The men fought bravely, how- 
ever, and there appeared to be no thought of surrendering on 
either side, but a constant intention to fight to the end. 

While the fleet was getting into its formation the Chao Yung 
and Yang Wei, which were slow in taking up stations, were dis- 
astrously exposed to the Japanese fire, and one of them in conse- 
quence began to burn. On the port wing the Tsi-Yuen and 
Kwang Kai, occupied a similar position behind the Chinese line. 
The Japanese steamed around by the stern at a distance of five 
thousand yards and cut off the Tsi-Yuen. The Kwang Kai, 

which was as yet keeping touch with the fleet, soon fell back. 
24 



492 EVOLUTIONS OF THE HOSTILE FLEETS. 

Nothing more was seen of these two during the action, and they 
escaped unhurt. 

The Chinese, unable to keep pace with the enemy, endeavored to 
follow their movements by keeping bow on to them, as they cir- 
cled around, maintaining a heavy bombardment. The Chinese 
fleet that kept in the thick of the fight consisted of six ships of 
the Yuen class, including the ironclads. The Japanese, having 
completed one circle, hauled off to a distance of eight thousand 
yards, and went through an evolution with the object of separa- 
ting in two divisions, the first consisting of the seven best known 
cruisers, and the second of five inferior ships which stood off to 
some distance. 

The Japanese gunners were making much better practice than 
their enemy. Very few of the Chinese shots reached their mark, 
while the Japanese were constantly hitting the opposing vessels 
most effectively. After a time the Chinese admiral apparently 
became desperate. His formation was broken, and two or three 
of his ships advanced at full speed. The fighting became furious, 
but the weight of metal told and one of his ships, the Lai-Yuen, 
was crippled in this venture. Then for some unknown reason 
the Japanese ceased firing and cleared off, while the Chinese re- 
tired nearer the shore. The respite was a brief one, for the 
Japanese returned in about fifteen minutes, renewing the battle 
with great vigor and upon the same effective plan. 

Late in the afternoon the Chinese cruiser Chih-Yuen, the cap- 
tain of which had several times shown a disposition to disregard 
the admiral's signals, deliberately steamed out of line and, 
although again ordered to remain in the place assigned to her, 
went full speed at a Japanese cruiser. The latter received a 
slanting blow which ripped her up below the water line and it 
was believed she would founder. She succeeded however, in 
pouring several broadsides into her enemy at close quarters, and 
the Chih-Yuen was so injured by her fire and by the effects of 
the collision that she herself sank. 

When the Chinese resumed tlieir line formation, the Japanese 
guns were directed upon the disabled ships, particularly the Lai- 
Yuen. She had been riddled by shot and shell, and it was evi- 
dent that she was sinking The Chinese gunners worked their 



SINKING OF THE CHINESE VESSEL LAI-YUEN. 493 

weapons to the last. Finally she went down slowly, stern first. 
Her bows rose clear out of the water and she remained in this 
position for a minute and a half before she disappeared in one 
last plunge. The Japanese had used no torpedoes upon her, but 
sunk her by fair shot and shell fire. It spurred all the men 
to additional effort, and the officers were naturally exultant. 
They regarded the sinking of a double bottomed ship like the 
Lai-Yuen by gun fire alone as no mean achievment. 

The battle then arranged itself into two great groups, the four 
Chinese cruisers becoming engaged with the second division, 
while the ironclads attacked the first division. The fighting of 
the second division was irregular and difficult to follow, and 
ended in the Japanese disappearing in the direction of the island 
of Hai-yung-tao. 

The first Japanese division carried on the fighting with the 
Chinese ironclads by circling round at a distance of four thou- 
sand five hundred yards. The Ping-Yuen and Chen-Yuen keep- 
ing together, followed the enemies' movements in a smaller 
circle, the whole evolution taking a spiral form. Occasionally 
the distance between the opposing ships was reduced to two 
thousand yards, and once to one thousand two hundred yards. 
The Japanese aimed at keeping a long distance away, so as to 
avail themselves of their superior speed, and make the most of 
their quick firing guns, in which armament they vastly excelled 
the Chinese. The object of the Chinese was to come into close 
quarters, so as to use their slow firing guns of large caliber with 
full effect. 

Other Chinese vessels endangered were the King-Yuen, which 
was badly injured by fire, the Chao Yung, which foundered in 
shallow water, and the Yang Wei, which was partially burned, 
and afterwards destroyed by a torpedo. ^ 

On the Japanese side, in addition to the vessel which was 
rammed by the Chih-Yuen, the Yoshino and the Matsusima were 
badly injured by fire. The former of these two, after receiving a 
series of volleys from two Chinese vessels, was enveloped in a 
cloud of white smoke which lay heavily on the water and com- 
pletely covered the ship. The Chinese vessels waited for the 
cloud to clear away and got their port guns ready, but before the 



494 



DISASTER TO JAPANESE VESSELS. 



Yoshino became visible their fire was diverted by a Japanese ship 
of the Matsusima type which came on the port quarter. The 
guns which had been laid for the Yoshino were fired at this new- 
comer with the result that she too began to burn. 

In the latter part of the battle the Chinese ironclads ran short 
of common shell, and continued the action with steel shot, which 
proved ineffective. 

An officer of the Japanese navy who was on one of the vessels 
in the engagement, was sent to make a verbal report to the 
mikado, and related some interesting details of the battle. He 
says that the fleet consisted of eleven war ships and a steam 
packet, Saikio Maru, which had been fitted up with guns as a 
cruiser, conveying Admiral Kabayama, the head of the naval 




THE YOSHINO. 

command bureau, on a tour of inspection. Here is what he says 
about the latter boat : " It was our own turn next to suffer. 
The Saikio Maru had worked her deck guns to the best of her 
ability, but she was scarcely adapted for fighting in line against 
ironclads. Frequently she was in imminent danger, the Chinese 
quickly perceiving that she was a weak ship. A well placed 
shell from the Ting- Yuen pierced her side, and exploding made 
a complete wreck of the steering gear as well as doing other 
damage. She was put out of action, and pointed the best course 
she could by means of her screws. But this was a poor make- 
shift, and in trying to get away, she ran to within eighty metres 
distance of the Ting -Yuen and Chen-Yuen, both these ships hav- 
ing starred in pursuit of her at full speed. The two Chinese 
commanders evidently thought that the Saikio Maru intended to 
ram them, for tliey sheered off and thus left her room to escape. 



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CHINESE SAILORS IN PITIFUL DISTRESS. 



497 



She went away southward at her best speed. The Chinese dis- 
charged two fish torpedoes after lier, but the projectiles either 
passed underneath the ship's keel or missed their direction. The 
fire which had slackened during this incident, recommenced with 
redoubled energy, but we still made better practice with our 
guns. The Chao Yung was partially disabled, though she still 
fought on against two of our cruisers who were closing upon her. 
The doomed vessel went astern and settled down in shallow 
water. She was covered, but two-thirds of her masts were visi- 
ble, and the rigging was soon crowded with scores of Chinese 
crying loudly to be saved. It was a pitiful sight, but the fight- 
ing was too hot to allow us to help them. At the same moment 




THE MATSUSIMA. 



the Yang Wei was reported disabled. She retired slowly from 
the fighting line rolling heavily, masses of dense smoke emerging 
from her. We had suffered on our side, but not nearly to such 
an extent. A shell had burst upon the flagship Matsusima, dis- 
mounting the forward quickfiring gun, and killing a number of 
men. The gun too was flung violently against the ship, doing 
considerable damage. The Matsusima had received a great 
part of the Chinese fire throughout and this last disaster had 
rendered her useless for further fighting. Her commander and 
first lieutenant had been killed. One hundred and twenty of her 
men had been killed or wounded ; but the ship still floated. 



498 



DEsrERATE FIGHTING ON BOTH SIDES. 



Admiral Ito and his staff were transferred to the Hasidate and in 
a few minutes they were again in the thick of the fight 

" The Hiyei in the mean time had been receiving the fire of 
two powerful Chinese vessels. She was manoeuvered skillfully 
and returned their fire, until a shell bursting within her set the 
woodwork in flames. A second shell exploded in the sick-bay, 
killing a surgeon and his assistant, and some of those who had 
been wounded earlier. The captain was compelled to run her 
out of action, to extinguish the flames, and this having been 
accomplished his wounded men were transferred to another ship, 
and he steamed once more into line. The Yoshino had been 

fought throughout in a magnifi- 
cent manner. She steamed in 
advance of the Hiyei when the 
latter was disabled and was back- 
ing out of line. She took the 
enemy's fire, and replied with 
the greatest spirit. She was 
hit frequently, and her forward 
barbette was damaged, but her 
injuries can soon be repaired. 
The Chinese used their torpedo 
boats at times and incessant 
care was necessary to avoid 
their projectiles. On our war 
ship, the Akagi, the captain 
was aloft in the tops watching especially for torpedo movements 
and signalling by flags directly they were detected. He was 
in this position when the mast was shot away, and the top- 
hamper fell with a crash upon the deck. The captain and 
two lookout men were killed. The first lieutenant took com- 
mand and fought the ship till darkness stopped the action. 
Towards the close of the day dense smoke was seen issuing from 
the war ships Ting- Yuen, King- Yuen, and Ping-Yuen, and it was 
believed by us that all were on fire. Great confusion prevailed 
on board them, but they did not retire from action. Firing was 
still kept up intermittently on the Chinese side, though the guns 
of many of their ships were silenced. At sundown the Chinese 




H. SAKOMOTO, Commander of the 
Akagi 



WHEN NIGHT ENDED THE BATTLE. 499 

squadron was in full retreat. We took a parallel course intend- 
ing to renew the battle in the morning. The night was dark, 
the speed was only equal to that of our slowest damaged ship, 
and we were compelled to keep at some distance from their 
course on account of their torpedo flotilla, which might have 
attempted a night attack. We lost sight of the enemy during 
the night. At dawn we endeavored to discover their position, 
but failed. The Chinese squadron must have reached protected 
shelter. Then we returned to the scene of the action, and found 
that the war ship Yang Wei, which had been disabled when the 
battle was half over, had been run ashore. Her crew had 
abandoned her. We fired one fish torpedo and completed her 
destruction. This was the only torpedo fired by the Japanese 
either in the action or after it." 

From a concensus of the opinions of eye witnesses, it appears 
that the Chinese were at least as anxious to continue the figlTPt as 
were the Japanese. Before five o'clock the Japanese ceased fir- 
ing. It was observed that the distance between the fleets was 
rapidly increasing and the Chinese failed to diminish it. The 
Chinese then saw the Japanese change course in a westerly direc- 
tion towards the islands of Yang-tao and Hai-yung-tao. The 
Celestials followed them for an hour, and saw the course changed 
again to a southerly direction, while some of the ships of the 
second Japanese division that had vanished earlier in the fight 
now joined those of the first. By this time nothing but the 
smoke of the withdrawing fleet was visible and the Chinese 
returned. They were joined by the ships which had been partially 
disabled but were still in condition to proceed, and altogether 
withdrew towards Port Arthur. A message was sent to the trans- 
ports from which the troops had disembarked on the banks of the 
Yalu river, ordering them to weigh anchor and follow the fleet. 

It is evident that there remained room for each side to claim 
the victory in this naval battle. The Chinese succeeded in dis- 
embarking the troops, which was the avowed object of their expe- 
dition. They fought brilliantly, inflicting considerable damage 
upon their opponents, and assert that the battle was terminated 
against their will by the withdrawal of the Japanese vessels. 

The Mikado's men on the other hand, destroyed several of the 



600 EACH SIDE CLAIMS THE VICTORY. 

best battle ships in the Chinese navy with great loss of life to the 
crews, and plead that the Chinese withdrew from them. The 
truth probably is that each fleet was so damaged and the 
men so exhausted with the long contest that they were mutually 
willing to quit. Inasmuch as casual spectators of impartial mind 
are not in a position to observe the details of a battle royal of this 
sort, it seems that the decision must be left unsettled except as 
the destruction of so many Chinese vessels may be certainly cred- 
ited as a victory for the Japanese. The withdrawal of the 
Chinese fleet towards Port Arthur, and its previous inactivity seem 
to be partially responsible for the handing over of Corea to the 
Japanese, giving them first the advantage of possession in the 
invaded country. 

The peculiar constitution of the Chinese navy is partially an 
explanation of the discipline prevailing. The navy is not prop- 
erly an imperial or even a national force. The four fleets are 
provincial squadrons raised, equipped, and maintained by the 
viceroys or governors of the maritime provinces to which they are 
attached. No arrangement could possibly be more unsuited for the 
purpose of naval war, and to it may be partially attributed the 
previous inaction of the Chinese fleet while their numerically 
inferior antagonists were using the sea at will. Stirred up at 
length, doubtless by peremptory orders from Peking, the Chinese 
admiral, in place of throwing his whole strength into a decisive 
operation, seems to have committed himself to a subsidiary object- 
ive. Naval history teems with examples of the drawbacks that 
inevitably result from being thus led away. To have attacked 
the Japanese when convoying troops to Chemulpo, or to have 
fought a naval battle at Chemulpo or Ping- Yang inlet might have 
led to important results. In place of adopting such a course, the 
Chinese utilized their fleet for the first time in convoying troops 
to the mouth of the Yalu river in the north-east corner of the bay 
of Corea. The great difficulty experienced in advancing over- 
land from Manchooria doubtless suggested this plan, but the 
object at best was purely secondary. And with the fleet scattered 
and partially destroyed it would seem that the troops, both 
artillery and infantry, with their stores lauded at the mouth of 



COMPOSITION OF THE JAPANESE FLEET. 501 

the Yalu river, would be practically helpless so far from support 
or a base of supplies. 

The Japanese fleet which met that of China in the battle of the 
Yalu river was composed as follows : The Matsusima, Itsuku- 
sima and the Hasidate, each of four thousand two hundred and 
seventy-seven tons displacement and seventeen and one-half 
knots ; The Takachiho and the Nanivra, each of three thousand six 
hundred and fifty tons, and eighteen and seven-tenths knots ; the 
Akitsushima, of three thousand one hundred and fifty tons, and 
Chiyoda, of two thousand four hundred and fifty tons, and each 
nineteen knots ; the Yoshino, of four thousand one hundred and 
fifty tons and twenty-three knots ; the Fuso, three thousand 
seven hundred and eighteen tons, and the Hiyei, two thousand 
two hundred tons, each thirteen knots ; the Akagi six hundred 
and fifteen tons, and twelve knots ; beside the Saikio Maru, a 
steam packet fitted as a cruiser and four torpedo boats. It will 
be seen that in numbers the fleets were about equal. But in 
tonnage the Chinese fleet was superior, having several vessels 
larger than any of the Japanese, while on the other hand the speed 
of the Japanese vessels averaged very much above that of the 
Chinese. The armament too of the Japanese fleet was superior to 
that of the Chinese, being composed more largely of quickfiring 
guns. In type the vessels of the opposing squadrons differed con- 
siderably. While six of the Chinese ships had side armor, only one 
Japanese vessel was thus protected ; and while ten Chinese ships 
had protection of some form, only eight Japanese carried any 
armor. 

The Japanese had the advantage of their opponents in speed, 
but to a less extent than might be expected. The number of 
knots shown for each ship in the lists was of course the best pos- 
sible, and is equally delusive for both sides. Notwithstanding, 
the Japanese had so much the greater speed that they were able to 
steam around their opponents to some extent. There are some 
lessons to be drawn from this battle by those who have wondered 
what the result of a contest between the modern war ships would 
be. The Chinese made one attempt to ram, and discharged one 
torpedo from a ship and three from a boat. The attempt to ram 
resulted in desperate damage, though not in destruction to the 



502 EXTENT OP DAMAGE TO BOTH FLEETS. 

ship attacked. The liimmer herself was afterwards sunk, it was 
believed by gun fire. All the torpedoes discharged were ineffec- 
tive. The Japanese tried to use neither the ram nor the torpedo. 
Beside the Chih-Yuen, the Lai- Yuen and Chao Yung were sunk 
by shot and the Yang Wei was run aground to avoid foundering 
in deep vvater. The Japanese flag ship Matsusima was so se- 
verely injured that Admiral Ito had to shift his flag to the Hasi- 
date. The Hiyei was forced out of action for a time, and the 
armed packet steamer Saikio Maru had to go out of action alto- 
gether. The mast of the Akagi was shot away, and by the fall 
killed the captain and two men, all of whom were on the top. 
Such being the variety of the ships engaged, important lessons 
are forthcoming from this first great modern naval battle. Many 
theories fondly beloved and eagerly proclaimed have had to be 
abandoned for their holders to fall back upon the old and well 
tested principles of naval war. The gun has maintained its posi- 
tion as a weapon to which all others are merely accessories. The 
best protection, as Farragut pointed out, is a powerful and well 
directed fire. Stupendous losses, unimaginable destruction, have 
been confidently predicted as a necessary result of a naval 
battle fought with modern weapons. This did not prove to be 
the case, and the damage inflicted in the five or six hours' fight- 
ing at the mouth of the Yalu might have occurred in the days of 
the '74s. Allowance must be made for the probable defects in 
the Chinese gunnery practice, but their seamen fought like heroes, 
and greater endurance than was shown on either side can never 
be expected. The accuracy of naval fire is always over-estimated 
in time of peace. The disablement of the heavy guns of the Chen- 
Yuen and her continued fighting with her light armament are a 
useful object lesson. This vessel like many others was built 
solely with a view to carry her four thirty -seven ton guns. The 
remaining armament was doubtless distributed promiscuously as 
space offered. Both barbettes were quickly disabled, and machin- 
ery gave place to man power. On board ship, as on land, it is the 
man who ultimately counts, even though in time of peace he is 
often forgotten. 

From this survey of the characteristics of the two fleets, it may 
be perceived that each fairly represented a different principle. 



LESSONS OF THE BATTLE OF THE YALU. 503 

The principle represented by the Chinese was that advocated by 
the school which puts matter above mind, for their fleet contained 
the biggest ships, the less numerous but heaviest guns, and the 
most extensive torpedo armament. The principle of which the 
Japanese may be taken as the representative is that of a school 
which appeals to history and experience, and not to theories 
evolved out of the inner consciousness of people without practical 
knowledge of the sea, and which maintains that the human factor 
is both the most important and the unchanging factor in war, 
which must in its broader features remain much what it has 
always been. 

Whatever the claims of victory made by the opposing forces, the 
fact remains that Admiral Ito stayed at sea with the Japanese 
fleet and that the damages were repaired as fast as possible on 
board the ships ; while the Chinese went into port, where their 
repairs could be made in safety and at leisure. Japan unquestion- 
ably had command of the sea. The menace which operated suc- 
cessfully in the early stages of the war was changed for the pres- 
tige of a greal moral and material victory. 



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JAPAN'S FORWARD MOVEMENT IN COREA. 



Effects of the Battles of Ping-Yang and the Yalu River— How the Two Nations Received 
the News— Withdrawal of the Chinese Fleet— Armies Moving North to the Boundary— Li Hung 
Chang Losing His Rank and Influence— Possible Destination of the New Japanese Army- 
Prince Kung— Cliinese Driven out of Several Positions in the North of Corea— Abandoning 
tlie Peninsula— Danger to Foreigners in Cliina— Captain Voo Hanneclcen— The Japanese 
Advance into Manchooria. 

The effects of the battles of Ping- Yang and the Yalu River upon 
the governments and peoples of the two belligerent nations were 
characteristic. Japan was the scene of rejoicings most hearty in 
every city and village of the empire. Congratulations were sent 
from the emperor to the commanders of the military and naval 
forces^ and memorials complimentary to them were voted by the 
Japanese parliament. Additional levies of troops were made and 
hurried into Corea, with the intention that the war should be 
prosecuted with renewed vigor. 

In China, on the other hand, the dazed government was scarcely 
able -to realize what had happened. Reports were made to the 
emperor w^hich caused him to declare that the defeat was merely 
the result of the cowardice of his commanders, and that they 
must be punished for the losses. The emperor at once began to 
contemplate a change of counsellors, and the dismissal of all 
mandarins and others who had been concerned in the conduct of 
the war. Li Hung Chang's position in imperial favor began to 
waver. The captain of the cruiser Kwang Kai was beheaded for 
cowardice. At the battle of the Yalu River he saw one of the 
enemy's ships approaching to attack him, and immediately turned 
and fled with his vessel as rapidly as possible. He intended to 
escape to Fort Arthur, but as he was endeavoring to shape a 
course thither which would keep him out of range of the enemy's 
guns, he ran ohe vessel ashore and she became a total wreck. 

The Coreans, except those under the immediate influence of 
the home government, were not yet willing to accept the Japanese 
influence for that of China, which had been so strong throughout 

C50T) 



608 AFTER THE TING-YANG BATTLE. 

their lives. A body of two thousand Japanese left Fusan just be- 
fore the battle of Ping- Yang, to march to Seoul. Their advance 
was, however, opposed by the Cor cans, who harassed them con- 
tinually by a guerilla warfare. The Japanese lost heavily, and 
were compelled to return to Fusan, having lost nearly half of 
their number. Two thousand fresh troops were immediately sent 
to that port from Japan to guard the neighboring settlements, 
where some three thousand Japanese permanently resided. 
Another uprising of the armed Tonghaks, whose rebellion had 
been one of the first features of the war, was apprehended. 

The remnant of the Chinese fleet sought refuge after the battle 
of the Yalu river under the protection of the Port Arthur forts, 
where they were soon locked up by Japanese ships which pa- 
trolled the neighboring waters, preventing the exit of Chinese 
vessels. The Chinese army defeated at Ping-Y^ang fled to Wi-ju, 
at the apex of the most northerly angle of the Bay of Corea, on 
the Corean side of the mouth of the Yalu River. About seven 
thousand Chinese troops had been landed there from the trans- 
ports which were escorted by the Chinese squadron engaged in 
the battle at the mouth of the river. The governor of Manchooria 
began to concentrate all the troops raised in that province upon 
Mukden and the route between that city and Wi-ju, and extensive 
earthworks were thrown up along the road. 

It was believed by the Chinese that Mukden would be the 
scene of the next great battle of the war. This famous Manchoo 
city possessed a political and dynastic importance, which might 
easily render its downfall decisive for the war, irrespective of all 
strategic considerations. It was the sacred city of the royal house, 
the ancestral home of the reigning family of China. It contained 
the tomb of many of the emperor's august ancestors, and accord- 
ingly was invested in the eyes of all good Chinamen with a halo 
of sanctity reflected on the Lord of the Dragon Throne himself. 
The capture of the city in which so many sons of heaven had 
found sepulchres would be accepted throughout the empire as an 
omen that the present occupant of the royal seat was not worthy 
of divine protection, and such omens, in days of disastrous wars, 
are often fulfilled with remarkable celerity. As the politicians 
about the court were perfectly aware of wiiat the consequences 



IMPORTANCE OF MUKDEN. 



500 



of the fall of Mukden would be, it was natural that they should 
tjike every precaution to prevent such a catastrophe. Further- 
more, in Mukden the Chinese emperor was supposed to have gold 
and silver accumulated in the course of two centuries, to the 
amount of 11,200,000,000. 

Mukden is only one hundred and fifty miles from Wi-ju, with 
which place the Manchoo city was connected by a road, compara- 
tively good for China, as it had been the main route to Peking, 
and even the Chinese recognized its strategic importance by 
running telegraph wires along it. It is easy to see why the 




PRINCIPAL STREET OF MUKDEN. 

Chinese began to increase the fortifications of the sacred city, and 
why they made a stand at Wi-ju in the hope of interrupting the 
Japanese advance. 

The levies of troops concentrating upon Wi-ju, Mukden, and 
the intervening territory were hardy men from the north, of ex- 
cellent material to be worked into soldiers, but they were badly 
armed. Only about four thousand had good rifles, but further 
supplies were being hurried up from the southern arsenals. The 
Chinese force intrenched upon the Yalu River was about thirty - 
eight thousand, including the troops that had escaped from the 
Ping- Yang defeat to fall back upon Wi-ju. Many of the forces 



510 LI HUNG CHANG LOSING POWER. 

which they found there were also raw levies, badly armed. The 
loss of field guns, rifles, and ammunition at Ping- Yang greatly 
embarrassed the Chinese war department. It was recognized tliat 
a battle must be fought at the river, and it was earnestly desired 
to retrieve the disaster of Ping- Yang. 

It was immediately after the series of defeats in Corea that the 
effort began to be made by the enemies of Li Hung Chang to find 
a means for his degradation. Even two weeks before the battle 
of Ping-Yang, the government at Peking appointed two officers 
to act as censors of his proceedings, and especially of his conduct 
of the war. One of these officials was a notorious enemy of the 
viceroy. The censors at first contented themselves witli taking 
note of Li Hung Chang's actions and movements. Immediately 
after the news of the disaster at Ping- Yang reached Peking, the 
emperor was persuaded that the defeat of his army was due to the 
mismanagement of the viceroy. The intrigue was completely 
successful, and on the morning of September 18, an imperial edict 
was issued depriving Li Hung Chang of his three-eyed peacock 
feather, the reason assigned for the disgrace being incapacity and 
negligence in making preparations for the war. Much sympathy 
was expressed for the viceroy, who was thus made the scapegoat 
for the disasters. The real responsibilit}^ rested with the Tsung-li 
Yamen, which had been making war with an inadequate force in- 
efficiently organized and hampered by tradition. Li was not a 
member of the Grand Council, but it was sought to make him 
responsible for its blunders. 

Within a few days after the Corean engagements, another 
Japanese army was mobilized at Hiroshima for service in the 
field. The destination of this fresh expeditionary force of tliirty 
thousand men was kept a secret, nothing being known except 
that another effective blow was contemplated by General Kawa- 
kami, the Von Moltke of Japan. The sea-going fleet of China 
was practically parah^zed for the time, and the Japanese were 
free to transport a force in any direction. The island of Hai- 
yung-tao, in Corea Bay, had been made a coaling station for the 
Japanese fleet, thus enabling the Japanese torpedo boats to keep 
a constant watch at the mouth of the Gulf of Pechili and secure 
advance warning of offensive or defensive operations. It was be- 



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NEW JAPANESE ARMIES PREPARING. 



613 



lieved that Count Yamagata favored an attack upon Niuchwang 
from the sea. This city in the possession of the Japanese would 
form a base for a movement upon Mukden or upon Peking itself, 
and the forces landed there could co-operate with the army 
advancing from Corea. A second possible destination for the 




TRANSPORTING CHINESE TROOPS. 



new force was Peking itself. It was believed that an army of 
that size could reach the capital by disembarking at a point on 
the coast about half way between Taku, the city at the mouth of 
the Peiho River, on which Peking is situated, and Niu-chwang. 

The third alternative was an expedition to Formosa. The 
island had hitherto remained outside the sphere of operations, and 
25 



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514 IN THE INTEREST OF HUMANITY. 

Chinese troops from the southern provinces had been transported 
there in considerable number. This movement of forces had been 
interrupted only by the wreck of one steamer, and the necessary 
caution required to avoid a collision with Japanese cruisers, 
which at times patrolled that portion of the China sea. There 
were probably fifteen thousand men in the island, drawn in part 
from the Black Flags, and excellent in quality, but lacking in 
military training and even arms and equipment. The natural 
wealth of Formosa was known to be considerable, and its geogra- 
phical position from a commercial point of view immensely im- 
portant, so that there were good reasons to believe this a possible 
destination for the forces. 

It is interesting to note the general order issued by the Japanese 
minister of war September 22, to the troops which were about to 
take the field, and to the others which were already in active 
service. It went far to prove to the civilized world, whose eyes 
were upon the operations of the war, that it was the desire of the 
Japanese authorities to conduct their hostilities with as much 
consideration for the humanities as is ever possible in war. The 
order was as follows : 

*' Belligerent operations being properly confined to the military 
and naval forces actually engaged, and there being no reason 
whatever for enmity between individuals because their countries 
are at war, the common principles of humanity dictate that succor 
and rescue should be extended, even to those of the enemy's 
forces who are disabled either by wounds or disease. In obedience 
to these principles, civilized nations in time of peace enter into 
conventions to mutually assist disabled persons in time of war, 
without distinction of friend or foe. This human union is called 
the Geneva convention, or more commonly the Red Cross associa- 
tion. Japan became a party to it in June, 1886, and her soldiers 
have already been instructed that they are bound to treat with 
kindness and helpfulness such of their enemies as may be disabled 
by wounds or disease. China not having joined any such conven- 
tion, it is possible that her soldiers, ignorant of these enlightened 
principles, may subject diseased or wounded Japanese to merciless 
treatment. Against such contingencies, the Japanese troops must 
be on their guard. But at the same time they must never forget 



IN THE INTEREST OF HUMANITY. 



515 



that however cruel and vindictive the foe may show himself, he 
must nevertheless be treated in accordance with the acknowledged 
rules of civilization, his disabled succored, his captured kindly 
and considerately protected. It is not alone to those disabled by 
wounds or sickness that merciful and gentle treatment should be 
extended. Similar treatment is also due to those who offer no 
resistance to our arms ; even the body of a dead enemy should be 
treated with respect. We cannot too much admire the course 
pursued by a certain western nation which in handing over the 
body of an enemy's general, complied with all the rites and cere- 




JAPANESE MILITARY HOSPITAL. 



monies suitable to the rank of the dead man. Japanese soldiers 
should always bear in mind the gracious benevolence of their 
august sovereign, and should not be more anxious to display 
courage than to exercise charity. They have now an opportunity 
to afford practical proof of the value they attach to these princi- 
ples." 

At the very time that these actions were occurring in Japan, 
measures of increased severity were being taken in China to 
punish those who were supposed to be responsible for the defeat. 
The emperor and his counsellors were in a state of alternate terror 



516 MORE ATTACKS ON THE VICEROY'S ABILITY. 

and indignation, at the break down of the war arrangements and 
the possibility of a Japanese invasion. The emperor dechxred that 
the recent defeats could only have been caused by incompetence, 
or corruption, or both, among those charged witli the conduct of 
the war, and the enemies of Li Hung Chang sedulously encouraged 
tliis mood. The viceroy himself remained to all appearances en- 
tirely unmoved. He made no preparation to proceed to the head- 
quarters of the army in the field as it had been reported he would 
do, and it was believed that he would not leave Tientsin as long 
as his enemy had the ear of the emperor. 

As Chinese fortunes went down, and admirals and generals and 
princes lost their high standing in the good graces of the emperor, 
other officials rose in favor to take their place. The personality 
of some of these men is peculiarly interesting because of the inti- 
mate connection and high authority they had from this time in the 
conduct of the war. 

On the 30th of September an imperial decree was issued, ap- 
pointing Prince Kung, the emperor's uncle, and the presidents of 
the Tsung-li Yamen and the Admiralty, as a special committee to 
conduct the war operations in co-operation w4th Li Hung Chang. 

Prince Kung, whose proper title was Kung tsin-wang, or the 
Reverend Kindred Prince, whom the emperor of Cliina brought 
back to honor from retirement and disgrace by appointing him 
CO director with Li Hung Chang of the war arrangements, was a 
man who in the past had played a ver}^ important part in the 
history of China. At the outbreak of the war he w^as some sixty- 
three years of age, having been born about 1831. He was a 
man of great vigor and determination of character, and w^as pos- 
sessed of abilities of a very high order. Prince Kung was the 
sixth son of Emperor Tankwang, who died in 1850. His personal 
name, which was used only by liis family, was Yih-hu, ^vhile the 
people called him Wu-ako, or the Fifth Elder Brother. Prince 
Kung came to the fiont first in 1860, when Emperor llien Feng 
the son of Tankwang fled from Peking, on the advance of the 
allied armies of Great Britain and France. At tliis critical 
moment the former returned to the capital, assumed the reins of 
government, and entered into negotiations with the allies. 
Having accepted their ultimatum, he surrendered the northeast 



SAVING THE MANCHOO DYNASTY. 619 

gate, which commanded the city, on October 13, and eleven days 
later the treaty of Peking was signed by him and Lord Elgin. 

The following year Emperor Hien Feng died, leaving a son as 
heir, whose age was only five years. Four of Prince Kung's elder 
brothers were already dead, and the fifth had lost his position in 
Emperor Tankwang's household by being adopted into the family 
of another emperor. There was thus no one to claim precedence 
of him as the first prince of blood royal, during the minority of 
Tung-chi, the new emperor. A conspiracy had, however, been 
formed against him, with wliich he found it necessary to grapple 
immediately. The late emperor had left the administration of 
affairs practically in the hands of a council of eight, of whom 
Prince I was at the head. This council had decided upon a plan 
of action for seizing the reins of power. They proposed to ob- 
tain possession of the emperor's person, to put the empress-regents 
out of the way, and to kill Prince Kung and his two surviving 
brothers. Prince Kung, however, was not to be found napping. 
Having received news of the plot, he at once took measures to 
prevent its successful accomplishment, by carrying off the young 
emperor to Peking. The conspirators were then arrested and 
brought to trial. The Princes I and Chin, being of the blood 
royal, were permitted to take the " happy dispatch." The rest of 
the conspirators were either beheaded or banished. ' Thus did 
Prince Kung save from destruction the reigning dynasty of 
China. 

For his great services he was at once proclaimed "Regent 
Prince," and in conjunction with the two empress-regents assumed 
the government of China. He immediately adopted a vigorous 
policy in dealing with the Tai-Ping rebels, which was crowned 
with success. After Colonel Gordon's capture of Suchow, at the 
head of his ever victorious army, Prince Kung bestowed upon liim 
a medal and ten thousand taels, which were refused. Prince Kung 
also successfully put down the Mohammedan rising in Yun-nan 
and Kan-pu, and opened up diplomatic intercourse with European 
powers. Prince Kung's determination not to accept the gun- 
boats purchased in 1861 nearly led to serious results, and cost 
England 15,000,000. This crucial period was followed by another 
in 1870 when the Tien-tsin massacre occurred. In all these events 



620 RETREAT OF THE CHINESE. 

Prince Kung showed that he possessed the gifts of a great states- 
man. When Emperor Tung-chi died childless in 1875, tlie choice 
of a successor to the dragon throne lay between Tsai-chiiig, the 
son of Prince Kung, and Tsai tien, the son of Prince Chun, his 
younger brother. As the election of the former would have com- 
pelled the retirement of Prince Kung from active participation in 
the government of China, and as a continuance of his services was 
a matter of absolute necessity for his country, Tsai-ching was 
passed over in favor of Tsai-tien, a child of onl}^ four years of age, 
who adopted the name of Kwang-Su, or illustrious successor. 
Prince Kung, however, continued to act as regent of the country. 
The present emperor assumed the reigns of power in 1887, and 
subsequently he dismissed with disgrace the man whom he was 
afterwards pleased to honor, and who had rendered to China and 
the reigning dynasty such services as ought never to be for- 
gotten. 

When the Chinese fled from Ping- Yang towards Wi-ju they left 
behind them nearly a million dollars in treasure, thirty -six guns, 
two thousand tents, one thousand three hundred horses, and a 
considerable quantity of rice and other stores. Hard pressed by 
the pursuing Japanese, they abandoned their remaining four guns 
at An-ju, a town some seventy-five miles north of Ping- Yang. 
Thirty miles farther on, at Chong-ju, an important provincial 
town, they made a temporary halt, having received orders to hold 
the place pending the arrival of large reinforcements from the 
north. But the pursuit was too hot, and Chong-ju was evacuated 
without fighting. The next stand attempted to be made was at 
Ngan, where the troops were reinforced by orders from Shin- 
King, the province in which Mukden is situated. For a few days 
it was prophesied that the decisive battle of the war would be 
fought there, but the Chinese again abandoned their position and 
fell back upon Kaichan. 

The Japanese array, while pushing forward towards Manchooria, 
showed the greatest consideration in their dealings with the 
Coreans, and any attempt at robbery or outrage on the part of 
the soldiery was most severely punished. The private soldiers 
were under the strictest orders to pay cash for everything that 
they obtained from the natives, and pains were taken to see that 



RETREAT OF THE CHINESE. 



521 



they should cany out their instructions. The result was that the 
Coreans began to appreciate that the Japanese were better friends 
to tliera than were the Chinese. The latter had been very severe 
in their exactions of supplies from the populace, and even though 




JAPANESE SOLDIERS DIGGING A WELL. 

the Corean sympathies had been with the Chinese, the common 
people objected to the expense of quartering the army without 
recompense. 

On the 4th of October the main portion of the advance 



522 JAPANESE MASTERS OF COREA. 

Japanese column reached Yong-clion, a little to the south of Wi- 
ju, after the difficult march from Ping-Yang, retarded by an ex- 
tensive commissariat department and many guns. No sign of the 
enemy was reported at this place. Four days later, scouts re- 
ported that a small Chinese force still occupied Wi-ju, and a de- 
tachment of Japanese infantr}' and cavalry was thrown forward, 
supported by light artillery, to dislodge them. The Cliinese of- 
fered but a slight resistance and fled precipitately before the 
smart attack, finally succeeding in getting across the Yalu. The 
larger body of Chinese troops had withdrawn across the river be- 
fore this time, so that the forces remaining in Corea numbered 
not more than two thousand. Their loss in killed and wounded 
probably did not exceed one hundred. Wi-ju was occupied b}^ 
the Japanese on the same day, and on the day after they began a 
reconnoissance which revealed the fact that the Chinese were 
still in force in the northern bank of the river. Eight intrenched 
batteries were discovered, and the enemy were rapidly throwing 
up fresh earthworks and building new batteries. Obviously the 
next fight was to be expected at this place, and if the Chinese 
held their grounds it would be a sanguinary one. 

Marshal Yamagata still maintained his base at Ping- Yang, as 
being more convenient for securing his supplies by sea, while 
General Nodzu remained in advance with the forces. The Jap- 
anese line of communication was now complete throughout 
Corea, a sufficient number of troops being scattered through the 
peninsula at Fusan, Asan, Chemulpo, Seoul, Gensan, and Ping- 
Yang to guard against any hostilities on the part of the natives, 
and to make reinforcement by land safe. The government of 
Wi-ju was placed in the hands of a Japanese officer acting as 
special commissioner. The field telegraph was established in 
working order within two days after the capture of the place, and 
a regular courier service to the rear was inaugurated at once. 

At the same time two or three detached revolts were in prog- 
ress, the most important one being that of the Togakuto rebels 
in the province of Kiung sang. These rebels were still in arms 
and in the mountain fastnesses it was hard to get near them. 
They had with them fifty Chinese soldiers who escaped when the 
Chinese were defeated at Asan and then joined the rebels. Those 



ON THE BANKS OF THE YALU. 623 

who had taken up arms against the corrupt Corean officials in the 
Province of Chung- chong had been dispersed, however, and the 
more formidable ones were now being gradually hemmed in. 

When the middle of October came, the two armies were still 
facing each other on the banks of the Yalu. The Chinese had 
not yet fired a shot but kept at work night and day improving 
the natural advantages of their position. On the Japanese side 
there was no desire unduly to hurry the figliting, Marshal Yama- 
gata choosing to wait for his heavier artillery and supplies before 
attacking. Spies kept him admirably informed as to the move- 
ments of the enemy, their defenses, and their artillery. The}^ 
estimated the total strength of the Chinese massed along the 
north bank of the Yalu as between twenty -five and thirty thou- 
sand. 

While the two armies are thus facing one another across the 
Yalu River, the Chinese having been driven from their last foot- 
hold in Corea, let us turn to the condition of affairs in the capitals 
of the two nations. The enemies of Li Haiig Chang in Peking 
were busy in their efforts to cast disgrace upon him. Sheng, the 
taotai or chief magistrate of Tien-tsin, fell into disgrace and it 
was immediately alleged that he was a nephew of Li LIung 
Chang's and that the latter was probably a sharer in the results 
of bis dishonesty. Just before the war broke out Sheng was 
commissioned to purchase arms and ammunition for the imperial 
troops, to be distributed to them as they arrived from the inter- 
ior on the way to Corea. Rifles and cartridges were duly pur- 
chased, and nearly all were served out to the troops. As soon as 
they were put to the test of actual service they were found to be 
almost worthless, and strong complaints were sent to Peking and 
Tien-tsin. Li Hung Chang himself conducted an inquiry, and 
learned therefrom that Sheng bought from German agents three 
hundred thousand rifles of obsolete pattern, part of the discarded 
weapons, in fact, of more than one European army. The con- 
tract price of these rifles as between Sheng and the German 
sellers was two taels each, but the price charged by Sheng to the 
imperial treasury was nine taels each. The cartridges were of 
very inferior quality and of various pattern, and Sheng made a 
large profit on them also. After Sheng's guilt was proven upon 



524 EXIT OF FOREIGNERS. 

him b}^ the viceroy, he retired to his palace and for a time was 
seen no more iu public. It was stated semi-officially that he ap- 
plied for and was granted leave of absence on the ground of ill 
health. But a few days later it was reported that he was again 
enjoying the authority of his office, having been sustained against 
Li's wishes by some of the viceroy's enemies. Li's enemies be- 
came bolder and bolder. Placards denouncing him as the cause 
of China's troubles were posted on the walls of Tien-tsin and 
children in the streets sang doggerel songs ridiculing and insult- 
ing the great viceroy. 

The foreigners resident in Peking and Tien-tsin became very 
restless under the impending invasion of China by the Japanese. 
Assaults on foreigners in Peking and its environs, which have 
been of constant occurrence during the last ten 3^ears, increased 
in frequency and gravity. Several English and American fami- 
lies withdrew to Shanghai because of the prevalence of street 
rowdjdsm. Tien-tsin was full of troops from the interior, but 
nearly all of them were the merest rabble, wretchedly clad, muti- 
nous through lack of pay and insufficient rations, and useless for 
real war because of their antiquated weapons. Their continued 
presence in Tien-tsin was a distinct danger alike to Chinese and 
Europeans. An imperial edict published in Peking assumed full 
responsibility for the protection of foreign residents, denounced 
rowdyism, and ordered the punishment of certain culprits who had 
assaulted travelers. It assured the strangers the protection of 
their persons and their property, and was especially favorable to 
missionaries. The whole tone of the edict was considered highly 
satisfactory, and yet the government had failed to punish those 
who were responsible for the assaults and had taken no cogni- 
zance of the murder of a missionary, except to permit the governor 
of the province where the crime was committed to retain his high 
position. 

A rebellion broke out in the district of Jeho, in the province of 
Chihli early in October, consequent on the rumored invasion of 
the Japanese. The imperial summer residence was in this city. 
Another Chinese rebellion broke out in the province of Hoopih 
about one hundred miles from Hankow. The local authorities 
attempted to quell the first rising but failed. Some of their sol- 



REBELLIONS IN CHINA. 525 

diers were killed and others joined the rebels. Two mandarins 
lost their lives. In consequence of the urgent demands of the im- 
perial autliorities the province had been quite denuded of troops 
and there was practically no means at the command of the author- 
ities to keep them in check. The Europeans at Hankow were 
seriously alarmed and many of them withdrew to Shanghai. 

The emperor of China, early in October, began to take the initi- 
ative, attempting to infuse new energy into the national defense. 
It was indeed reported that he had disguised himself, and in per- 
son visited Tien-tsin, accompanied only by a few trusted servants, 
in order to see for himself what was going on, and particularly to 
learn the truth as to the alleged incapacity of Li Hung Chang to 
carry on the arrangements for the war. It was not, however, the 
emperor who made the journey in disguise, but his former tutor 
and trusted adviser Weng Toung Ho, the President of the Board 
of Revenue, or Finance Department. He also went to Port 
Arthur, Wei-hai-wei, and other places, and thoroughly informed 
himself of the state of affairs, civil, naval, and military. On re- 
turning to Peking he made an exhaustive report to the emperor, 
upon which the latter immediately began to take more interest in 
public affairs. He declined to sign documents until they had been 
previously read and explained to him, and called for special re- 
ports from the naval and military commanders. His next act was 
to summon to Peking the viceroys and governors of provinces, to 
receive from them accounts of the steps taken to comply with the 
demands of the imperial government, and to obtain from them 
their views as to the state of affairs. It was believed however by 
foreigners most able to judge that throughout all these actions the 
dowager empress of China Avas the active power in control. It 
was also believed that she was really a friend to Li Hung Chang, 
and that he would not suffer ultimate destruction unless she turned 
against him. 

Another important action taken by the emperor was to confer 
the highest grade of the Order of the Double Dragon upon Captain 
Von Hannecken for his services at the naval battle of the Yalu 
River and to place him under practically sole control of the naval 
forces of China. 

Constantine von Hannecken, the German officer who was put 



526 



CONSTANTINE VON HANNECKEN. 



in supreme control of what was left of the Chinese navy, had 
ah'eady seen a great deal of service in the war with Japan before 
his promotion to that post. He was on board the Kow-shing when 
she was overhauled and sunk by the Japanese cruiser Naniwa- 
Kan, with a loss of more than a thousand Chinese soldiers. Von 
Hannecken was left struggling in the water when the Kow-shing 
sank, but had the rare good fortune to be picked up by a boat. 
Still more recently he was high in command of the Cliinese fleet 
at the disastrous battle of the Yalu River. He was slightly 
wounded but was soon ready for action again. This brave man was 
born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1854, and was a son of the late 

Lieutenant-General von Han- 
necken. He served the usual 
term in the German army, and 
in 1879 went to Cliina, where 
he was soon higli in favor 
with Li Hung Chang. He 
mastered the Chinese lan- 
guage in a single year. His 
technical military knowledge, 
amiability, and tact, gained 
for him the position of per- 
sonal adjutant to Li Hung 
Chang, with a large sala^3^ 
He devoted much of his time 
to the construction of bridges 
and forts, and the fortifica- 
tions at Port Arthur and 
Wei-hai-wei were built under his personal direction. He was 
rapidly promoted to the highest military places within the gift of 
Li Hung Chang and the government, and received buttons, 
feathers, and jackets galore. 

About a year before the outbreak of the war, having grown rich 
in the service of the dragon throne, he resigned from the Chinese 
army and returned to his home in Germany. After a stay of a 
few months he sailed again for China with the intention of settling 
his affairs there and retiring to Germany. The war with Japan 
changed this plan, and he promptly reentered the service of China- 




CONSTANTINE VON HANNECKEN. 



JAPANESE DIET IN SESSION. 529 

Admiral Ting and Captain Von Hannecken visited Wei-liai-wei 
to examine its defenses, and satisfied tliemselves that the harbor 
was practically impregnable from the sea. Japanese war vessels 
continually patrolled all parts of the Gulf of Pechili, and were fre- 
quently seen from Port Arthur, Chefoo and Wei-hai-wei. The 
Japanese fleet was also sighted several times ten miles off Shan- 
hai-kwau, less than two hundred miles from Peking. 

The main body of the Chinese army was now entrenched in a 
strong position protected by a line of rectangular forts newly con- 
structed across the northeast border of the province of Chihli. 
The Manchoos were held in reserve nearer Tien-tsin than Peking. 
Sung Kwei, the emperor's father-in-law, was in command of five 
thousand picked Manchoo soldiers at Shan-hai-kwan, which was a 
city of great strategic importance, the starting point of a great 
highroad to Peking from the coast. 

General Sung, formerly commander of Port Arthur, was ap- 
pointed to be Generalissimo of the Pei-Yang army corps in man- 
chooria and Chief Commander of the Manchoo levies, with the ex- 
ception of the Kirin division, which remained under the command 
of the Tartar general. The Chinese headquarters were established 
at Chiu-lien-tcheng. Generals Yeh and Wei were degraded by 
imperial edict. 

On the 15th of October the newly -elected Japanese Diet met 
for a short preliminary session at Hirosliima, where the mikado 
had established his headquarters. The election of officers was im- 
mediately proceeded with, Mr. Kusumoto being cliosen president, 
and Mr. Shimada vice-president. The formal opening of the Par- 
liament took place two days later. The mikado in his speech an- 
nounced that he had decided to convene an extraordinary session, 
and had given direction to his ministers to submit for the deliber- 
ation of the Diet a bill providing for increased expenditure for the 
army and navy, which was an important matter. His Majesty de- 
clared that he was greatly pained that China should have forgot- 
ten her duties in regard to the maintenance of peace in the east 
in conjunction with Japan, she having brought about the present 
state of affairs. " However," proceeded the emperor, " as hostili- 
ties have begun we shall not stop until we have obtained our ut- 
paost objects." In conclusion, His Majesty expressed the hope 



530 FUNDS FOR THE AVAR. 

that all subjects of the empire would co operate with the govern- 
ment, in order to promote the restoration of peace by means of 
the great triumph of the Japanese arms. 

The president of the two chambers of the Diet presented an ad- 
dress in reply to the speech from the throne, thanking the mikado 
for advancing the imperial standard and for personally assuming 
the direction of the war. The victories which had been secured 
by the Japanese arms by land and sea were the natural result. 
The address in conclusion said : " His Majesty rightly considers 
China the enemy of civilization. We will comply with the impe- 
rial desire to destroy the barbarous obstinacy of that power." 

In the House of Peers, on October 19, Count Ito, the premier, 
made an elaborate speech in support of the government measures 
for meeting the expenses of the war, and defended Japan against 
tlie charge of having precipitated the hostilities. He narrated in 
detail the circumstances which had led up to the war, and read the 
correspondence which had passed between the mikado's govern- 
ment and the authorities at Peking, before the rupture of diplo- 
matic relations. The premier's statement made a great impression, 
and intensified the keenly patriotic feeling manifested by the mem- 
bers of the Diet, not a dissenting voice being raised against the 
ministerial bills. The following day the war budget of 150,000,- 
000 yen passed both houses unanimously. This was the most im- 
portant part of the proceedings of Parliament. The two houses 
fully demonstrated that they desired to hold up the hands of the 
government, and grant everything which might be asked to insure 
the success of the Japanese arms. 

Simultaneously with the opening of Parliament an important 
diplomatic move was made by the Japanese. Now that Japan was 
practically in undisputed possession of Corea, the moment was con- 
sidered opportune for the carrying out of those thorough reforms 
in the internal government of the country, to which Japanese 
statesmen looked forward as the best guarantee against foreign in- 
fluence in the future. In order to strengthen the hands of Mr. 
Otori, the Japanese minister at Seoul, the emperor selected Count 
Inouye, minister of the interior, to proceed to the Corean capital 
to act as special adviser to Mr. Otori. 

The Japanese Parliament had occasion to welcome an important 



ENGLAND WANTS PEACE. 631 

Corean messenger. The second son of the peninsular monarch 
left Chemulpo on the day the session began, as a special envoy to 
the mikado, returning the visit made to the king by the Marquis 
Sainonji. The young prince and his embassy, consisting of eight 
leading nobles, were received by the mikado and his principal 
ministers, being welcomed most cordially. 

Just prior to the opening of the session, the British government 
addressed a circular note to the ministers of the great powers, 
suggesting intervention in the affairs of the east. The Chinese 
were in readiness to make terms of peace, conscious of the enor- 
mous sacrifices and risks which would have to be incurred before 
she could bring her immense reserves of strength into action, and 
being devoid of military ambition. The British cabinet council 
which decided upon this letter met on October 4, and three days 
later it was generally known, in spite of government denials, that 
the action had been taken. The reception of it was not cordial. 
In reply to the proposals put forward by England, the German 
government formally intimated that it was not prepared to join in 
any measures for circumscribing the political results of the con- 
flict between Cliina and Japan. The French government shared 
the same view, and the United States was earnest in the same ex- 
pression. Russia, too, decided to avoid interference in connection 
with other nations, preferring to retain the opportunity of indi- 
vidual interference. On the part of Russia, the military com- 
manders in the Amoor proviiice were ordered to hold troops in 
readiness, in view of the fact that the situation in China might 
make intervention necessary. There seems to be good ground 
for believing true the rumor, oft repeated after the battle of the 
Yalu, that China had made to Japan overtures for peace, on the 
basis of an acknowledgment of Corea's independence, and pay- 
ment of an indemnity for the losses and expenses of the war. 
The proposal was rejected by Japan as inadequate. Altogether it 
seemed that the initiative taken by the British foreign office was 
premature to say the least. 

The mikado, in his address to Parliament, made no allusion to 
the proposals for peace, but seemed rather to look on the prosecu- 
tion of the war to the end as the sole means of insuring lasting 
tranquility. With England's effort for European intervention in 



532 MOVEMENTS OF TROOPS. 

mind, Parliament adopted a resolution that, " No foreign interfer- 
ence will be suffered. to obstruct the great object of the national 
policy, to secure a guarantee of permanent peace in the orient.*'" 
A renewed offer of mediation in the interest of peace was made 
to China and Japan in the name of some of the European powers, 
after the adjournment of Parliament. China declared her willing^ 
ness to conclude an armistice or a peace on any reasonable terms -, 
Japan refused to consider the proposal until it should be made 
directly at Hiroshima *' From a quarter formally accredited and 
empowered to offer it." 

The movements of troops, both Japanese and Chinese, were 
now multiplying to such an extent, that except for one familiar 
with the geography of eastern Asia, they were very confusing. 
Almost every day it was reported that some Japanese force had 
made a landing on the Chinese coast, rumor after rumor of this 
sort being circulated and denied. Chinese troops massed in the 
vicinities already named, their numbers constantly increasing. 
An army of five thousand Japanese was taken by transports along 
the east coast of Corea to Possiet harbor, near the boundary of 
Siberia, and five thousand Russian troops were posted on the 
other side, facing them, to guard the Siberian frontier. Corea was 
being steadily cleared of Chinese stragglers, deserters from the 
late army and others, who if allowed to be at large might develop 
into bandits or spies. The restlessness of the natives in the prov- 
ince of ChuUa was difficult to restrain, and a combined force of 
Japanese and Corean troops was despatched to the district to 
quell the outbreak. Rumors of land battles in the north of Corea, 
on the lower Yalu, were circulated every day, but for a time were 
foundationless. Towards the end of October, troops began to 
pour into Tien-tsin in large numbers daily, and were disposed for 
the defense of the capital. Most of the new arrivals were in- 
fantry, the bulk of the cavalry being sent to the Manchoorian 
provinces to the northeast. 

The fleets of the two nations were now again in fighting condi- 
tion, although the loss of many vessels suffered by the Chinese at 
the Yalu had left them in strength far inferior to the Japanese. 
The Chinese fleet was concentrated at Port Arthur and Wei-hai 
wei, where it was believed to be safe from attack or favorably sit- 



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READY TO INVADE MANCHOORIA. 



535 



uated for offensive operations. The Japanese squadron under 
Admiral Ito was concentrated at Ping- Yang. On October 18 the 
last of the transports carrying the second Japanese army steamed 
out of the harbor of Ujina on their way to Hiroshima, where they 
were held in readiness for active operations. 

The extraordinary session of the Japanese diet at Hiroshima 
was closed October 22, all the bills submitted by the government 
having passed unanimously. Before separating, the Diet voted a 
memorial urgently requesting the officers of the government to 
execute the desires of the Mikado, in order that Japan might 
















o 



MAP OF TERRITORY ADJACENT TO THE MOUTH OF THE YALU. 

achieve a complete victory over the Chinese, whereby peace would 
be restored in the east and the glory of the Japanese nation in- 
creased. A resolution was passed unanimously, placing upon 
record the thanks of the nation to the army and navy, for the gal- 
lantry and patriotism displayed by all ranks, and for the splendid 
success which had attended the Japanese arms. 

On October 24 Count Yamagata, commander-in-chief of the 
Japanese forces in Corea, threw a small force across the Yalu, 
thus invading Chinese territory. In order to understand the sub- 
sequent operations, a brief topographical explanation is here nec- 
26 



636 ON CHINESE TERRITORY. 

essaiy. At a little distance below Wi-ju, the Yalu, flowing west, 
receives a tributary, the Ai, coming from the northeast. Chiu- 
lien lies in the western, or obtuse-angled corner formed by the 
junction of the two rivers, same distance back from their banks. 
Within the eastern, or acute-angled corner the land rises to an 
eminence called Hu-shan. A traveler by the main road from 
Wi ju to Chiu-lien, having crossed the Yalu, must pass on the left 
or to the west of Hu-shan, which overlooks the highway, and 
thus reaching the Ai must cross it also to Chiu-lien. The Chinese 
had intrenched Hu-shan, and posted there a force estimated by 
the Japanese at three thousand five hundred, but subsequentlj^ 
alleged by prisoners to have aggregated seven or eight thousand. 

The plan pursued by Field-Marshal Count Yamagata was to oc- 
cupy a long stretch of the Yalu River, so that his point of passage 
would remain to the last uncertain, and any flanking movement 
on the east by the cavalry, of which the enemy possessed a large 
force, was rendered impossible. Having rested his troops and 
completed his arrangement for a final advance, he threw a battalion 
across the river under Colonel Sato, at Shai-ken-chau, a place ten 
miles up stream from Wi-ju. The passage was made by wading 
and was unopposed. The detachment was composed entirely of 
riflemen, no calvary or artillery accompanying them. A Chinese 
earthwork had been thrown up at this point to oppose a landing, 
but a slight deviation enabled the detachment to cross without in- 
terference. An attack was immediately opened on the Chinese 
position, which was garrisoned only by a few artillerymen and in- 
fantry. They fled after the first two or three rounds had been 
fired, and the Japanese captured the works with a rush. A regi- 
ment of Manchoorian cavalry arrived as the little garrison fled, 
and covered their retreat. The Chinese made for the batteries 
constructed lower down the river, the infantry throwing away 
their arms in their flight. The Chinese loss was about twenty 
killed and wounded, while on the Japanese side not a man was 
hit. The Japanese force now moved down the river and captured 
the Chinese fortifications at the Suckochi ferry, where they passed 
the night. The Japanese engineers had pontoons in readiness for 
passage across the river. 

During the night of the 24th, the Japanese pontoon men threw 



JAPANESE AGAIN SUCCESSFUL. 



637 



a bridge across the Yalu at the ferry, 
and at dawn the main body of the 
army, having passed over unop- 
posed, commenced an attack against 
Hu-shan, Colonel Sato's brigade 
coming into action simultaneously 
from the other side. The battle 
began at 6:30 A. M., and lasted until 
a few minutes past 10. At first the 
Chinese held their ground with toler- 
able firmness, but presently, finding 
their position swept by rifle and 
artillery fire from a hill on their 
right flank, of which possession had 
been taken by a brigade under 
Major-General Osako, they broke 
and fled across the Ai to Chiu-lien. 
The reserves, however, did not join 
the rout. Posted advantageously, 
they preserved their formation and 
maintained a resolute fire, until 
thrown into confusion by a flanking 
movement, which placed a large 
force under Major-General Tachimi 
to the rear of their left. Then they 
too gave way, and retreated in con- 
fusion across the Ai, so hotly pur- 
sued that they had to abandon ten 
pieces of artillery. The Japanese 
had lost twenty killed and eighty- 
three wounded ; the Chinese two 
hundred and fifty killed and a some- 
what large number of wounded. 
Two divisions of the army then 
crossed the Ai and encamped on the 
east of Chiu-lien, the brigades of 
Major-General Tachimi and Colonel 
Sato posting themselves on the 




538 IN POSSESSION OF THE FIELD. 

same side of the Ai, but further north, so as to menace the same 
road from Chiu-lien northward to Feng-hwang. Field Marshal 
Yamagata and Lieutenant-General Nodzu took up their quarters 
in a farmer's house to the northeast of Hu-shau. Thus with all 
the advantages of elevated ground, a position fortified at leisure, 
and a force ample for defensive purposes, the feebleness and faulty 
strategy of the Chinese converted into a mere skirmish what ought 
to have been a sanguinar}^ battle. 

The following morning, October, 26, before dawn, a general ad- 
vance was commenced against Chiu-lien. It was supposed that 
the enemy would make an obstinate stand there, since after 
Feng hwang the fortified town of Chiu-lien ranks as a position of 
eminent importance in the defense of soutli western Manchooria. 
Moreover, throughout the night a cannonade liad been kept up 
from the town against the Japanese camp, and though the invad- 
ing columns were posted so that the enemy's missiles passed harm- 
lessly over them, this resolute service of guns seemed to promise 
stout fighting on the following day. But in truth the artillery 
was employed merely in the vain hope of intimidating the assail- 
ants, or in order to cover the flight of the garrison. The Japanese 
encountered no resistance whatever. At eight o'clock in the 
morning they entered Chiu-lien. The enemy had decamped in 
the direction of Feng-hwang before dawn, leaving behind him al- 
most everything, twenty-two guns, three hundred tents, large 
stores of ammunition and quantities of grain and forage. 

The series of defeats following the crossing of the Yulu River 
by the Japanese seemed to complete the Chinese demoralization 
in that vicinity. The defeated forces probably numbered more 
than twenty thousand men, the victorious army was considerably 
inferior in numbers, the batteries weie well built, and the position 
was a strong one. The continuous loss of artillery, and throwing 
away of muskets and rifles wherever the Chinese made retreat, was 
gradually depleting the stores of arms possessed by the forces in 
Manchooria, leaving them unable to fight even if they had desired 
to. A little fighting evidently went a long way with them. Did 
they carry away their artillery and stores, these precipitate re- 
treats might possess some strategical character, but they simply 
saved their own lives, leaving all their material of war behind 



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CHINESE DEMORALIZATION. 541 

them. The troops at Chiu-lieii were not ill-disciplined or badly 
armed from a Chinese point of view. Coming from Port Arthur, 
from Taku, and from Lu-tai, they ranked among the best soldiers 
China could put into the field. If such men proved themselves so 
conspicuously invertebrate, it was to be questioned whether or 
not the addition to their number of a few thousand Tartars would 
make them stand more stiffly in a subsequent conflict. It seemed 
even to the friends of China that her capacity for resisting the 
invasion of Manchooria in the face of well-organized and res- 
olute attack, was simply contemptible. 

The second invasion of Chinese territory was made by the 
second Japanese army corps, twenty-two thousand strong, under 
the command of General Count Oyama. These forces sailed in 
transports from Hiroshima, and on October 24 commenced landing 
in a little cove northeast of Talien-wan Bay and protected by the 
Elliot islands from the open sea. Talien-wan Bay was avoided 
because the Chinese were known to have made some preparations , 
to resist a landing there. The peninsula which juts out south- 
westward between the Gulf of Liao-Tung and Corea Bay is known 
variously as the Liao-Tung peninsula and the Kwang Tung pen- 
insula. Every yard of it was familiar to the Japanese military 
staff, and had been included in their system of minute cartography, 
so that whatever point they selected was well chosen. Up to the 
last moment it had been supposed by the general public that Port 
Adams, on the west of the peninsula, would be the port of de- 
barkation, but as that would have involved the passing of a great 
flotilla of transports into Pechili Gulf, it was considered too 
hazardous an operation. The last of the flotilla of fifty trans- 
ports left Hiroshima October 18, and the fleet having assembled 
at Shimonoseki, steamed westward on the morning of the 19th. 
A distance of eight hundred miles had to be traversed, and in 
this case as in all previous operations everything worked with 
smoothness and success. On the evening of the 23rd the 
great flotilla reached its destination, and on the following morn- 
ing the landing was commenced. 

There was no resistance. The Pei-yang squadron did not 
show. Had there been any ordinary exercise of vigilance on the 
part of Admiral Ting's war ships they must have sighted the 



542 AT THE END OF OCTOBER. 

Jiipauese flotilla in ample time to strike at it. That they would 
have effected nothing in the face of the convoying squadron may 
be taken for granted, but if the prospect of failure deterred them 
from making any effort to protect their own headquarters, China's 
only dockyard and really important naval station in the north, 
the}" certainly deserved, the indifference with which the Japanese 
treated them. From the time of the naval battle of Sentember 
17; the Pei-yang squadron played no part in the war. Many at- 
tempts were made to prove that it had not been vitally hurt in 
the encounter, and that a few days would suffice to put it in a 
thorough state of repair. But whether repaired or not it disap- 
peared from the scene, and the Japanese cruisers thenceforth 
roamed at will along the Chinese coasts. 

With the move towards the investment of Port Arthur, and the 
crossing of the Yalu, the war entered upon a new phase. In se- 
lecting Port Arthur as an objective point, the Japanese were well 
advised. By such an attack a dockyard of the first importance 
was threatened, and full advantage of naval superiority could be 
taken. The Kwang Tung peninsula, or "Regent's Sword," w^as 
peculiarly inaccessible by land, while a power in command of the 
sea could land men at pleasure at several points within a short 
distance of Port Arthur, and with a small force only could isolate 
it from the mainland. 

Two days after the landing of troops on the peninsula, the col- 
lection of a third army at Hiroshima commenced. This force was 
to number twenty -four thousand, and be under the command of 
Lieutenant-General Viscount Takashima. At the same time an- 
other revolt of some little magnitude arose in the south of Corea, 
and two thousand rebels attacked the quarters of the Japanese 
commissary at Anpo. The malcontents were afterwards dispersed 
by a military force though not without difficulty. 

We have now reached the end of October. The first Japanese 
army is safely installed on the north bank of the Yalu River in 
Manchoorian territory, threatening the road to Mukden, Niu- 
chwang and the intervening cities. The second army is safe on 
shore on the Kwang Tung peninsula, threatening China's proudest 
naval station. The next month will see the fall of Port Arthur and 
the practical destruction of all Chinese hopes of ultimate success. 



REVIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR TO THE 

FIRST OF NOVEMBER. 



Characteristics of the two Nations in War— Cliina's Ignorance of the Coasts of Corea— 
Japan's Knowledge of Chinese Topography and Climate— Patriotism in the Two Countries- 
Bad Judgment of China in Methods of Conducting the War— The Governmental Weather- 
Vane and its Revolutions— No Commander-in-Chief for the Chinese Army— Official Corrup- 
tion in Civil as Well as Military Officials— The Battles of Ping- Yang and the Yalu River- 
Handling the Forces of the Enemies. 

At this period in the war, occurs a lull which makes it possible 
and wise to take a glance at the whole course of affairi during 
the hostilities, since the declaration three months earlier. The 
war has advanced far enough to prove the mettle of both com- 
batants, and to furnish data for judging of the probable issue of 
the struggle, at least from a purely military point of view. At the 
beginning of November, prophets were quite well equipped with 
material for predictions that were surely not to be disappointed, 
and it is from the aspect at this date that the present chapter 
takes its view. On the one side there is little but praise to be 
offered. The Japanese have proved themselves assiduous stu- 
dents of all modern armaments, and have in many points bettered 
their European instruction. They have made good their claim to 
be the rising power of the Orient. 

Of the Chinese a diametrically opposite account must be given. 
From a military standpoint nothing favorable can be said of 
them, and the only palliation of their failure is that they were 
wholly unprepared for an unexpected aggression. The course of 
the war has brought out in strong relief what has not always 
been clearly recognized, the essential differences between the two 
belligerent nations. A stronger contrast is scarcely imaginable 
than that between China and Japan, though they are so near and 
have been nursed on a common literature. With passionate 
effort the Japanese have ransacked the western world for its 
treasures of knowledge, and have vigorously applied what they 
have learned. The Chinese, on the other hand, have set their 

(543) 



544 HOW THE JAPANESE HAVE STUDIED CHINA. 

faces against the science of other nations, and with an unhappy 
mixture of apathy and contempt have rejected the teaching which 
has pressed upon them. In the same spirit they have spurned 
the knowledge of their own country and of their own forces, 
while the Japanese have been for years making a minute study 
of both, and possess maps and details which the Chinese them- 
selves have not and do not care for. The Chinese have carried 
on a large trade with the Yalu river, but the government knew 
nothing of the coast. Captain Calder of Port Arthur made a 
holiday expedition to the Manchoo-Corean coast, found the 
country beautiful, and recommended the naval authorities to let 
the cadets go and improve themselves by surveying it. Nothing- 
was done, the sole reason being that the incidental expenses of 
the ships would be increased by being at sea, and the captains 
would not save so much of their monthly allowance. Now the 
only survey the Chinese admiral possesses even of the scene of 
the late naval battle, is the outline made by Captain Calder him- 
self. The Japanese navy has complete charts both of the Corean 
and the Chinese coasts. In the summer of 1893 a small expedi- 
tion of Japanese disguised as Chinese, in a native boat surveyed 
the islands and coasts of the Gulf of Pechili, spending eight days 
in the immediate neighborhood of Port Arthur. The topography 
and physiography of North China have been their study for 
years. 

A Japanese physician even devoted a whole year to the climate 
and pathology. With his headquarters in Tien-tsin, where he 
plied the foreign doctors incessantly with queries, this Japanese 
investigator thoroughly explored the province of Chihli, and 
probably knows more of the climatic conditions of North China 
than any other living man. He pretended he had the intention 
of practicing among the Chinese, as possibly he may in the not 
distant future. The Chinese have started exotic medical schools, 
but they have not overcome the elementary difficulty about 
dissection, and the enterprise is but half hearted. As for employ- 
ing competent men to gather knowledge, the wholie idea is 
foreign to the Chinese official mind, and they only accept un- 
graciously as a gift the results of the explorations of enthusiasts 
for science. It is not, therefore, the accident of being a little 



CONDITION OF PATRIOTISM IN THE TWO COUNTRIES. 545 

earlier in the field, or quicker in movement to seize the benefit of 
an opportunity, that gives the Japanese such crushing advan- 
tages over the Chinese, but rather a deep-seated, congenital love 
of improvement on one side and hatred of it on the other. 

Another essential difference between the people is their exhibi- 
tion of patriotism. The Japanese are saturated with it, while the 
Chinese have none. The instinct of loyalty is there, and it can 
be called out by any man, native or foreign, who is worthy of it, 
but in the sense of nationality the Chinese have no capacity for 
enthusiasm, and the people as a whole are indifferent as to who 
rules them, so long as they are left to cultivate their gardens. 
For want of a patriotic focus, what would elsewhere be treachery 
is in China a commonplace of official practices ; every man to the 
limit of his small ability selling his country for his private 
benefit, and no one able to cast a stone at his neighbor. In 
Japan it would be impossible to get a man to betray his father- 
land; in China where is the man who would not? From the 
same root springs the incredible difference between the peoples 
in their treatment of soldiers and sailors. In the one country 
they are made heroes of, the people at home send delicacies to 
the troops abroad, honor the dead, and nurse the wounded. In 
the other the men are treated Avorse than dogs, robbed of their 
small pay, deserted, discarded, or grossly neglected by their 
leaders whenever they can be dispensed with and their monthly 
pay saved. Attachment between men and officers in China is a 
rare, though not an unknown thing, for the Chinese are, after 
all, human at heart, if one can but penetrate the pile of heredi- 
tary corruption which has covered up the divine spark. 

The foregoing are but examples which might be multiplied 
indefinitely, of the antitheses of Chinese and Japanese character 
and mode of action. If to all this is added the fact that the 
Japanese are a people who delight in war, while the Chinese 
abominate it, no further search is needed for explanation of the 
actual result. It is simply ignorance overcome by science, in- 
difference by energy. 

The Chinese have conducted the campaign in the manner those 
best acquainted with them would have predicted, doing on most 
occasions the utterly wrong thing, or stumbling on the right 



54ri CONSTANT FAILURES OF THE CHINESE. 

thing at the wrong time in the wrong way. But the most pessi- 
mistic prophet could hardly have predicted the utter inaptitude 
of the Chinese military movements. It is not only that they have 
failed to learn the modern art of war, but that they have for- 
gotten the old methods. It was thought that Chinese troops, 
though deficient in enterprise, might at least make a respectable 
defense. They were advised never to risk a pitched battle, but 
to retreat slowly, giving trouble to the enemy by night attacks on 
his baggage, and compelling him to use up an army corps to keep 
open his line of communication. They failed in every point, and 
allowed themselves to be chased and caught like sheep, losing 
stores, guns, and munitions. When all else failed, it was said 
that winter would come to their assistance, as the Japanese could 
never stand the cold, while the Chinese and Manchoos were 
inured to it. But when the cold came it was found that it was 
not the Japanese but the Chinese who suffered, having abandoned 
their warm clothing in precipitate flight. Their heart was never 
in the business, and nothing therefore could go right with the 
Chinese conduct of the war. 

While the war was incubating, China had to make up her mind 
how she was to meet the aggression of the Japanese in Corea. 
Candid friends, who knew well that her inchoate forces could 
never be a match for any organized army whatsoever, commended 
strictly defensive strategy. She was caught in the false position 
— in a military sense, though it was politically correct — of having 
a small force isolated in southern Corea, while the Japanese were 
occupying the capital in strength. The fighting value of the 
respective fleets was as yet an unknown quantity, but on the 
Japanese side there was confidence in their own superiority, and 
on the part of the Chinese a tacit acquiescence in that estimate. 
Under such circumstances an over-sea campaign was an absurdity 
for China, and the commonest prudence dictated that the small 
garrison at Asan be withdrawn before the outbreak of war. 

This crisis in affairs was met, as crises usually are in China, by 
divided counsels ; moral cowardice on the part of those who knew, 
blind rage on the part of those who did not know, and the sub- 
mission of the judgment of the informed to the arbitrary decrees 
and even the insidious advice of the uninformed. To speak 



DIVIDED COUNSELS IN CHINA, 



547 



plainly, Li Hung Chang, on whom the burden of the war would 
in all cases rest, and who knew something, though very little, of 
the power of discipline and organization, and who from the first 
was strongly opposed to the intervention in Corea, which was 
forced on him by pressure applied from Peking, was for with- 
drawing the garrison from Asan. In answer to his memorials to 
the throne, he had obtained the imperial authority and had hired 
transports to bring the troops over into Chinese territory. But 




SINKING OF THE KOW-SHING. (DraivTi by a Chinese Artist.) 

other counsels supervened, and Li Hung Chang refrained from 
giving effect to his own views. As the Japanese were by imperial 
fiat to be driven out of Corea, it followed that the garrison at 
Asan must be strengthened, and China committed herself to the 
conditions of war dictated by the enemy, an offensive war over- 
sea, which was entirely beyond China's capacit5\ 

There were still discussions and hesitations up to the moment 
of dispatching troops by sea to Corea. When the expedition of 



648 



FATE OP THE KOW-SHING. 



troops was seen to be inevitable, the Chinese were advised to take 
at least the precaution of having the transports escorted by a 
strong naval squadron. This was decided to be done, and the ill- 
fated Kow-shing left Taku on the clear understanding that an 
escort of warships would join her outside Wei-hai-wei, which was 
two hundred and twentj' miles distant, and roughly half way to 
Asan. But before the transport had got so far on her voyage, 
the official weathercock had set in another direction. The diplo- 




NAVAL SKIRMISH, JULY 25th. {Drawn by a Chinese Artist.) 



matic Yuan-si-Kai, former resident in Corea, where he had done 
so much to irritate the Japanese, now advised that the appear- 
ance of warships with the transports might give umbrage to the 
Japanese, and in deference to this opinion, before the pendulum 
had time to swing back, the Kow-shing with twelve hundred men 
on board, was sent unprotected to the Bay of Asan. The Jap- 
anese consular establishment, with its wonderfully organized 
intelligence department, was still in Tien-tsin, perfectly informed 



HOW CHINA CONDUCTS A WAR. 



551 



of everything that was being said and done in the most secret 
places, and making free use of the telegraph wires. 

With the tragic destruction of the Kow-shing, the war was 
begun most disadvantageously to the Chinese. Being by one and 
the same stroke deprived of the expected re-enforcements and cut 
off from the sea, the small force at Asan had either to fight to the 
death, surrender, or make good their retreat by a long and dan- 
gerous flank march. This last course was adopted, and after 



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SKIRMISH ON JULY, 27th. {Drawn by a Chinese Artist.) 



making sufficient stand to cover their retreat, not without inflict 
ing loss on the enemy, they succeeded in joining the Chinese 
army which had entered Corea from the north-west. The numbers 
of the retreating force were given as four thousand, but they were 
certainly less. 

The simultaneous engagements by land and sea on the same day, 
July 25, proved that the Japanese had determined to begin the 
war in earnest. Tlie naval action in which two Chinese ships 



562 



HOW CHINA CONDUCTS A WAR. 



were waylaid as they were leaving the Corean coast, served to 
prove that the Chinese ships could both fight and run away, and 
that the Japanese ships were very ably manoeuvred, but the affair 
had little other significance. 

Enraged by the sinking of the transport in time of nominal 
peace, the emperor of China ordered the fleet, over the head of 
Li Hung Chang, to pursue the enemy to destruction. In obedi- 
ence to the imperial mandate, the Pei-yang squadron, in the early 




BEFORE THE WALL OF SEOUL. {Drawii htj a Chinese Artist.) 



days of August, steamed for the Corean coast, but before sighting 
it steamed back again. The vicero}^ Li then interested himself 
to obtain a modification of the decree, and the fleet was com- 
manded to remain on the defensive for the special protection of 
the Gulf of Pechili, which instruction held good until the middle 
of September, when the fleet was forced to accept battle off the 
Yalu river. 

August 1st, troops were ordered to enter Corean territor}^ from 



A GOOD GENERAL AND A BAD ONE. 553 

the Manchoorian side, and in the course of the month a considerable 
force had filtered its way to the city of Ping- Yang, the strongest 
strategical point in western Corea, and even to a considerable 
distance beyond. The massing of these troops was conducted in 
the old rough-and-tumble, half-hearted Chinese fashion. There 
was no head, but separate and rival commands, each general look- 
ing only to the viceroy, Li Hung Chang for orders and supplies, 
and receiving more of the former than of the latter. 

These Chinese generals are an old world curiosity, scarcely 
conceivable in our age. They might be described as army con- 
tractors rather than fighting agents, for like the civil mandarins 
they buy their posts as an investment. The battalion or camp is 
farmed, as regards its expenses, by the general, who draws from 
government a lump sum for the maintenance of the force, and 
makes his economies according to his conscience, by falsifying his 
muster roll and defrauding his men. At the battle or rout of 
Ping- Yang there were soldiers who were three, four, and even 
five months in arrears of pay, some generals deliberately calcu- 
lating on the casualties of war to reduce the number of eventual 
claimants on the pay fund. The most notorious offender, General 
Wei of Ping- Yang notoriety, who had less than half the troops he 
drew pay for, and these mostly untrained coollies, hustled into the 
ranks to take the place of unpaid deserters, and in whose program 
fighting had no place, had paid certain influential persons liber- 
ally for his command. Desertion, it may be observed in passing, 
is not regarded as a calamity by an avaricious Chinese general. 

Chinese officers are however by no means all abandoned to 
money making. Some are liberal with their funds, just as some 
are brave and loyal, and are backed by equally brave and loj^al 
soldiers. The eflficieny of a force depends altogether on the per- 
sonality of the general, and as in feudal times in Europe, it is to 
their chief rather than to any government or country that the 
troops feel the ties of allegiance. As the leader is, therefore, so 
are the men. General Tsopao-kwei for example, who bore to his 
grave the honors of the fight at Ping- Yang, was a man well 
known to many foreigners of different classes, missionar}^ and 
others, and the unanimity of good opinion of him is quite remark- 
able. He was not only brave, but a courteous and kindly gentle- 



554 NO SYSTEM OF ARMY COMMANDERS. 

man who gained the affections of all around. A Mohamme- 
dan himself, all his soldiers were of the same faith, amd they 
stood shoulder to shoulder like heroes in the face of overpower- 
ing odds. 

During the month of August, while the Japanese forces were 
advancing upon Ping- Yang in three columns, there were outpost 
skirmishes in which the Japanese were frequently worsted. 
These affairs were naturally enough reported by the Chinese 
commanders concerned, according to their lights, as victories, and 
when it is remembered how the view of each is bounded by the 
horizon of his own camp, it is easy to see how they could deceive 
themselves as to the significance of such apparent success. The 
truth seems to be that the Chinese commanders in and about 
Ping- Yang did not realize that they were surrounded, each per- 
haps thinking it was the other's business. They had sent out no 
scouts, nor posted videttes to watch the mountain passes to the 
north of them. These elementary military precautions had been 
pressed on Li Hung Chang, who sent repeated orders to the front 
to have them seen to ; but nothing was done, for according to the 
vicious tradition of the Chinese service, the word is taken for the 
deed, and orders which are either impracticable or inconvenient 
are simply ignored or forgotten, without the delinquent being ever 
called to account. Spacious but wholly fictitious excuses would 
in any case serve the turn in a system whose fetich is universal 
sham. Perhaps, as there was no commander-in-chief, but a num- 
ber of independent commands, duties which concerned the army 
at large fell within the sphere of no one in particular. But in 
whatever manner it came about, the result was that the Chinese 
remained in comatose ignorance of the intentions of the enemy, 
until the only thing left was precipitate retreat. 

The affair of Ping- Yang was observed by one military expert, 
a Russian, who speaks in high terms of the precision and com- 
pleteness of the Japanese equipment and organization, but the 
opposition had been so contemptible throughout the war that the 
military qualities of the Japanese have not been seriously put to 
the proof. They remain a theoretical quantity. So far as the 
campaign had gone, to November 1, the chief obstacles encountered 
had been bad roads, standing crops, and sickness. 



REVIEW OF THE BATTLE OFF THE YALU RIVER. 55o 

The second day after the flight from Ping- Yang, September 17, 
the naval battle off the Yalu River was fought. The collision of 
the fleets seems to have been somewhat unpremeditated. The 
Chinese were engaged in disembarking troops for the re-enforce- 
ment of the army at Ping- Yang, and it is a characteristically 
haphazard proceeding that they should have been landing troops 
one hundred and twenty miles from the front, to strengthen a 
position already abandoned. The battle which ensued, and which 
raged for five hours, has been described with as much fullness as 
the limits of this volume permit, but the ultimate truth about it 
will perhaps never be fully known except of course to the Jap- 
anese government. From the Chinese side it will be impossible 
to obtain a consistent account, not because of intentional con- 
cealment, but because of the simple reason that no one in the 
Chinese fleet was able to observe accurately what was going on, 
except near his own vessel. Nevertheless the salient points of the 
battle stand out clear enough. The sea fight was but a repeti- 
tion of the land fight, with two important differences. The first 
of these was that as the nature of the cause rendered it impos- 
sible to sail modern ships of war at all by two-thousand-year-old 
tactics, the mere possession of a fleet required a European organ- 
ization. But the organization was imperfect, and would have 
been unable to sustain itself in action, but for the presence of an- 
other element in which the Chinese land forces were entirely 
lacking, competent foreign direction. This factor also was most 
imperfect. The foreign officers had been extemporized hastily, 
the leader of them being not even a seaman. They were of vari- 
ous nationalities and were enlisted about the middle of August. 
Three engineers, two German, one English ; two gunnery officers, 
one English, one German ; had been for some years in the fleet, and 
volunteered for war service. One American engaged for many 
years in the Chinese naval college also volunteered for active ser- 
vice during the war. Captain Von Hannecken, bearing now the 
rank of Chinese general, commissioned as Inspector General of 
Fortifications, was entrusted with the anomalous office of adviser 
of the admiral, thus giving him the real command of the fleet. 
An English civilian with naval training also joined. 

On entering on their duties, these officers found the fleet honey 
27 



556 INDUCI2^G THE CHINESE FLEET TO FIGHT. 

combed with abuses requiring patient reform, but they set them- 
selves to make the best of things as they were, and to get the 
ships as quickly as possible into action, as the thing most need- 
ful in order to brace up officers and men. Von Hannecken urged 
unceasingly an offensive policy. He would seek out the Japanese 
and attack them wherever found, fall on their convoys, and gen- 
erally assert the supremacy of China in Corean waters, from the 
Yalu eastward. In particular he urged the occupation of Ping- 
Yang inlet, so important for the support of the army which held 
the city of that name, and, if necessary, to fight to the death for 
the possession of a harbor at once so valuable and so easily de- 
fended. His prescience was indicated in the sequel, but to all 
such suggestions Admiral Ting replied with the imperial edict 
which forbade him to move out of Chinese waters. The convoy- 
ing service for which the fleet was eventually told off in the 
middle of September was a sort of compromise, which, without 
transgressing too flagrantly the imperial restrictions, yet com- 
mitted the fleet to an engagement on conditions not of its own 
choosing. 

The handling of the respective fleets showed the great superi- 
ority of the Japanese professional training, and critics have com- 
mented on the weakness of the Cliinese manoeuvring, but the 
first consideration was to get the Chinese to fight at all. The 
government had satisfied itself that without foreigners to lead 
them, the Chinese commanders would rather lose their ships in 
trying to escape than stand up to the enemy. The man, the only 
man available, who possessed the requisite qualities, personal and 
professional, including a competent knowledge of Chinese, hap- 
pened to be a soldier, but he at least made the fleet fight, not as a 
trained admiral would have done with a trained fleet, but in a 
manner to inspire the Chinese with some confidence in them- 
selves, in which till then they were greatly lacking. That is per- 
haps the most important result of the baptism of fire of the 
Chinese navy. 

As regards the technical bearings of the action off the Yalu, 
the Chinese admiial and captains adopted the formation which 
they said had been taught them by Captain Lang as the most ad- 
vantageous fur attack. But obviously a plan communicated four 



ECONOMIZING ON AMMUNITION. 557 

years ago by an officer whom these same men had intrigued out of 
their navy, when he had taken it through only half its course of 
training, could not be considered an infallible weapon with which 
to meet the thoroughly efficient navy of Japan. 

The fight brought out several of the weak points of the 
Chinese naval organization, and taught the officers many lessons. 
Most conspicuously was the fatuous economy of ammunition ex- 
posed. The most formidable ships for offense and defense were 
of course the two iron clads Ting-Yuen and Chen-Yuen, with their 
twelve and one-half inch guns. These guns throw a shell three and 
one-half calibres long, charged with forty pounds of powder. It is 
a projectile of low initial velocity, but a most destructive explosive, 
as the Japanese have testified. There were but four of these shells 
in the fleet, all being on board the Chen- Yuen. Of a smaller, and 
of course cheaper shell for the same guns two and one-half cal- 
ibres long, used for target practice, there were in all fourteen in 
the two iron clads, and they were fired off in the first hour and a 
half of the engagement, after which only steel shot was left with 
which to continue the fight. From the condition of the flag ship 
and her consort, may be inferred that of the other vessels in the 
fleet. They were at once however, after the battle, well supplied 
with shell except of the larger size. 

The Chinese fleet was at a disadvantage in manoeuvring from 
inferior speed, but a greater difficulty even than that was the per- 
versity of the personnel. Even on board the flag ship orders 
were not carried out, but varied or suppressed at the discretion of 
the officers. In telegraphing from the conning tower to the en- 
gine room, the plans of the admiral were frustrated, by the officer 
who moved the telegraph signalling a low speed when the admiial 
was ordering a high speed, in order to close with the enemj^ 
This trick was only discovered after the battle, by comparing 
notes with the German engineer who was below. How many 
other ways of cheating the commanding officer were resorted to 
during those critical hours, no one can tell. As for the other 
ships of the fleet, it is acknowledged that after the first round 
they kept no formation, each ship figliting her own battle, except 
the two ironclads with the foreign officers on board, which kept 
moving in concert till the close. The flagship lost all her signal 



558 



EFFECTS OF WINTER ON THE TWO ARMIES. 



halyards and a number of signal men in the beginning of the 
action, and thereby lost touch with the rest of the squadron. 

From the capture of Ping- Yang, to the first of November, 
the progress of the war attested the circumspection of the Jap- 
anese, who from first to last resolved to risk nothing by land 
or sea. There was practically no resistance, and the Chinese 
government was tolerably aware that there would be none, either 
at the Yalu or at Feng-hwang-tcheng. What the government 
reckoned on, if they can be said to have made any reckoning at 

all, was that the 
forces assembled at 
Chiu-lien-tcheng 
would delay the 
advance of the ene- 
my till something 
turned up, or till 
the winter should 
come to the aid of 
the invaded. Well, 
winter came, and 
lo it was the Chin- 
ese and not the 
Japanese who were 
its first victims. 
Poor General 
Sung, driven out 
of Kiu-lien-tcheng, 
and falling back 
on Feng-hwang- 
tcheng, was followed up so sharp that, with the remnant of his 
force, he had to retreat to the mountains, without extra clothing or 
baggage. The cold set in, and snow was falling on these shiver- 
ing wretches, wliile the enemy was enjoying the comparative 
luxury of the towns and villages. 

By this time in the history of the war, it seemed certain that 
in such a conflict as was to be anticipated, China would not en- 
trust the ultimate defense of the empire to such loose levies as 
had been in the field. From the time of their organization, these 




JAPANESE CAVALRYMAN. 



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WHAT THE FRIENDS OF CHINA HOPED. 6G1 

troops under arms have constituted a danger to the peace of 
China, whether in victory or defeat, and perhaps there was a cer- 
tain cynical calcuhition in the release by the Japanese of pris- 
oners, that they might swell the ranks of brigands. It was be- 
lieved by many friends of China that the dispersion of these 
troops would make room for an army built up on a different 
system, should the government be at last aroused to a sense of the 
necessity for military reform. 

Until this time, the government of China properly so called, 
had not been able to bring its intelligence to bear on the question 
of imperial defense. That had been left in the hands of the im- 
perial viceroy Li Hung Chang, who has for many years con- 
ducted the foreign as well as the naval and military affairs of the 
empire. But during the fall the Peking government was gradu- 
ally gathering the reins into its own hands. The return of Prince 
Kung to the counsels of the emperor was a marked expression of 
the new resolution. The summoning of Von Hannecken by im- 
perial edict to Peking was another indication of the suspension of 
Li Hung Chang's function of general middleman between the 
empire and the world. Whether this new born energy for affairs 
was to have staying power sufficient to launch the government on 
the unknown sea of foreign science, and save the empire from 
disruption was problematical, but the war still raged on, and out 
of its immediate issues, it was predicted by many, was to arise a 
state of thing which would mock the slow progress of mere 
evolutionary reform, by a cataclysm which might do in one day 
what a century of deliberation could not accomplish. 




UEUT. GEN. VISCOUNT NODZU. 



THE ADVANCE UPON PORT ARTHUR. 



Landing of the Second Japanese Army at Kwa-yuen-ken— Capture of Kinchow— Taking 
of Talien-wan— Flight of tlie Chinese to Port Arthur— General Nodzu's Force and its Action 
— Pekin Authorities Despondent— Prince Kung Asks Foreign Intervention— Propositions for 
Peace Fail— Contractors Want to Destroy Japanese Fleet— Foreigners in Chinese Service— 
The Emperor Receives Visitors— Drawing Near to Port Arthur— People of the Peninsula- 
Skirmishes on the Way— The Night Before the Battle. 

The troops of the second Japanese army landed at a place 
called Kwa-yuen-ken near the mouth of the Pili River, northeast 
of Talien-wan Bay. From the mouth of the Pili to Kinchow, 
the principal town in the peninsula, the distance is fifty-four miles. 
The debarkation was completed without interruption, and the 
march southwest ward began. The capture of Kinchow, at the 
narrowest point in the Adams Isthmus, was made without diffi- 
culty, and the victorious forces continued on their way. Novem- 
ber 7 the Japanese occupied Talien-wan. The more the captured 
Chinese position here was examined, the greater became the as- 
tonishment at the poor defense made. The defensive works were 
excellent in design. Six large and strongly constructed forts 
commanded Talien-wan bay, mounting all together eighty guns of 
various sizes and patterns. Many of them were comparatively 
modern and excellent of their kind. All of these guns, as well 
as large stores of ammunition, fell into the hands of the Japanese. 

Beside the forts on the bay, the Chinese had constructed across 
the narrow neck of the peninsula, which was here about seven 
miles wide, a series of earthworks of an elaborate kind. The 
whole system had evidently been planned by an engineer of high 
skill. It was completely fitted with telephones and other modern 
appliances for communication. The works had been designed to 
facilitate a concentration of troops at any threatened point in the 
shortest possible time. The batteries were powerfully constructed 
and well armed. The greatest strength of the forts on the bay 
was on the side facing the sea. Some successful reconnoitering 
revealed weakness upon the land side. An intimation was con- 

(563) 



664 



CAPTURE OF TALIEN-WAN. 



veyed to Count Ito that the seaward forts were of such strength 
that a bombardment from the Japanese fleet would assuredly re- 
sult in serious damage to some of the ships. Marshal Oyama in- 
formed his colleague that he believed a land attack would be at- 
tended with success, and that idea was therefore put into effect. 

The Japanese fleet took a station off tlie bay, and opened a tre- 
mendous bombardment of the forts on the 6th of November. 
For many hours the firing scarcely ceased, and on the following 
day it was resumed. On the 7th, covered by the bombardment, 
the land force attacked Talien-wan at daj'break by a general as- 




CHINESE EARTHWORKS. 



sault, and the success was complete. The Chinese, taken by sur- 
prise, fled panic-stricken towards Port Arthur. 

The losses in the capture of these two fortifications, Kin chow 
and Talien-wan, were not great on either side. The Chinese gar- 
rison at the former place consisted of one thousand infantry and 
one hundred cavalry. They fled to Talien-wan, which was de- 
fended by three thousand infantry and one hundred and eighty 
cavalry, and all together retreated thence towards Port Arthur. 
On the Japanese side the losses were only ten killed and wounded, 
and the losses of the Chinese, who offered practically no resist- 



GENERAL NODZU'S ARMY. 



665 



ance, were not much greater. As in previous retreats, the Chi- 
nese threw away their arms in their flight, and reached Port 
Arthur with nothing but the clothes they wore. 

During these days of action by the force under Oyama, Gen- 
eral Nodzu's troops had not been idle. Immediately after the 
capture of Chiu-lien, the Japanese headquarters' staff moved there 
from Wi-ju. Two columns were sent after the fleeing Chinese. 
Colonel Sato moved upon An-tung, wliich was taken without 
fighting. General Tachimi, with the first division, moved upon 
Feng-hwang on October 27, and on the 31st the town surrendered. 




VIEW OF TALIEN-WAN BAY. 



No prisoners were taken by the Japanese. The orders were to 
disarm and scatter the enemy wherever found, and this was done 
with vigor. By Marshal Yamagata's orders, the peaceable inhabi- 
tants were treated with the utmost consideration. All food pur- 
chased was paid for and laborers were paid for any extra help re- 
quired. As a result the Japanese camp was thronged with Chi- 
nese peasants offering produce, and more Chinese laborers asked 
for work than could be engaged. 

The enemy divided in flight from Feng-hwang, some going to 
Mukden, others to Haitcheng, and others to Taku-shan. Most 
of the generals fled to Mukden. As the last fugitives left Feng- 



566 IMPERIAL TROUBLE IN PEKING. 

hwang it was set on fire, and the flames wrecked the village be- 
fore the Japanese could extinguish them. Cold had set in among 
the Manchoorian hills by this time and some snow had fallen. 
The victorious army therefore took pains to make itself as com- 
fortable as possible, advancing slowly, living off the country, and 
driving all enemies before it. 

In Peking at this time the authorities were busy attempting 
to devise means of safety for their armies, and to provide for their 
own escape from threatening danger. Li Hung Chang was de- 
prived of all his decorative honors. Liu Kunyi, viceroy of Nan- 
king, was made viceroy of Tien-tsin. Chang Chi Stung, viceroy 
of Wu-chang, was appointed viceroy of Nanking. Hu Yuff, a 
judge of Kwang-hsi, and Captain Von Hannecken were ordered 
to enlist and equip a force of troops after the German model, as the 
nucleus of a new grand army of China. Finally Prince Kung 
was appointed Chief Controller of Military Affairs, with Prince 
Chung to assist him, thus further centralizing the power. 

Another imperial edict gave executive effect to the sentence 
passed by the military courts upon General Wei. It declared that 
by his withdrawal from the battle of Ping- Yang he caused the 
defeat of the entire army. Furthermore, he was adjudged guilty 
of embezzling public funds entrusted to him for the specific purpose 
of paying his soldiers, and of gross incompetence and violation 
of duty in that he permitted the troops with whom he retreated 
to maltreat and rob the people along the line of route, thereby 
lowering the national character. For these offenses General Wei 
was degraded from military rank and deprived of all his honors. 
It was also announced that Admiral Ting kept from the knowledge 
of the throne many important matters connected with the naval 
battle of the Yalu, and that while losing some ships and getting 
others crippled he inflicted scarcely any damage upon the enemy. 
The admiral was therefore deprived of all the honors recently be- 
stowed upon him under a misapprehension of the facts. 

How despondent was the view of the situation held by the 
Chinese authorities may be judged by the first action taken by 
Prince Kung after his promotion. On Sunday, November 4, be- 
fore the news of the Japanese success at Talien-wan had reached 
the Chinese, owing to the cutting of the telegraph wires, he in- 



CHINA ASKS INTERFERENCE. 667 

vited the representatives all the powers to assemble at the Tsuiig- 
li Yamen to hear what the Chinese government had to say re- 
specting the critical situation. At this audience Prince Kung 
calmly avowed the complete impotence of his country to withstand 
the Japanese attack, and appealed to the powers to intervene. 
He made an appeal for their assistance in bringing about some 
agreement for the termination of the war, indicating as a basis of 
negotiation a willingness of China to abandon her claim to the 
suzerainty of Corea, and to pay a war indemnity to Japan. This 
appeal was made formally and officially, and marked for the first 
time the fact that China recognized her utter defeat. 

Having concluded his speech, Prince Kung handed to each 
minister a note embodying his remarks. The ministers were favor- 
ably impressed, and they applauded the frankness of China's con- 
fession. They promised to support her appeal to their respective 
governments, with a view to the restoration of peace, and in order 
to avert the dangers threatening all interested. Simultaneously 
with this action of Prince Kung, the Chinese minister to Great 
Britain and France endeavored to enlist the assistance of the 
foreign offices of those countries, but again the effort to secure 
peace for China by the intervention of western nations met with 
little encouragement. 

A diplomatic complication arose between Japan and France 
early in November which had an element of comedy in it and is 
of interest here. Two American citizens, John Brown and 
George Howie, of British extraction, offered their services to the 
Chinese government in the capacity of torpedo experts. They 
claimed to be in possession of an invention capable of most de- 
structive effects in naval warfare, and having succeeded in con- 
vincing a Chinese agent of the validity of their claim, tKey were 
engaged to employ the invention against the Japanese navy, in 
consideration of a payment of 1100,000 down, 11,000,000 for each 
naval squadron destroyed, and a proportion of the value of each 
merchantman sent to the bottom. With their contract in their 
pocket, they sailed from San Francisco, and at Yokahama trans- 
ferred themselves to the French steamer Sydney. Meanwhile the 
Japanese authorities, having obtained intelligence of the two men's 
proceedings, telegraphed instructions to Kobe, and in that port 



568 JAPANESE FORCES MEET. 

the alleged inventors were taken off the ship, together with their 
Chinese companions. The French minister inclined to push the 
case in their favor, but diplomacy and international law was so 
clearly on the side of the Japanese that he withdrew his efforts. 
After their arrest however, the two men signed a stringent 
guarantee binding themselves not to assist the Chinese during the 
present war, and this with the representation of the American 
minister secured their release. 

The Japanese forces occupying Talien-wan used their time to 
advantage in strengthening their positions, completing the tele- 
graph line along the north shore of Corea Bay, to a junction with 
the line which had already been built across the Yalu River from 
Corea, and in preparing for their investment of Port Arthur. 
Admiral Ito's sailors and marines destroyed all the torpedoes 
placed by the enemy in the bay and its approaches. They also 
captured several torpedo boats and apparatus. The fleet and the 
transports all entered the bay, and there remained to act in 
harmony with the land forces. A few days after the occupation 
of Talien-wan, the advance column of the first Japanese army, 
pursuing from Feng-hwang that portion of the divided fugitive 
Chinese who were seeking Port Arthur, met the outposts of the 
second invading army, and communication was thereby estab- 
lished, both by telegraph and by messenger service, through 
Japanese garrisons, in a chain extending the full length of the 
Corean peninsula and around Corea Bay to Talien-wan. 

Consternation was caused in Peking by the discovery, which 
one would have supposed not difficult, that the Pei-yang squadron 
was caught in a trap at Port Arthur. Li Hung Chang had made 
efforts to bring all the damaged war ships out of that harbor, 
ordering the squadron to keep within range of the guns of Wei- 
hai-wei. But on account of somebody's violation of orders, a 
dozen Chinese vessels of war were now within the Port Arthur 
harbor, hemmed in by the neighboring Japanese fleet. The 
responsible Chinese officials appeared to be callous to the fate of 
the empire, giving their chief attention to matters of personal 
interest and gain. 

Port Arthur was now effectively invested and threatened, and 
to provide for their personal safety, Kung, the taotai of the 



FOREIGNERS IN CHINESE .SERVICE. 571 

place, together with several military leaders, abandoned Port 
Arthur as hastily as possible. The effort made by one English- 
man, anxious to preserve some Chinese dignity, to save Port 
Arthur, was received with considerable surprise and not by any 
means appreciated. 

The position of foreigners in the employ of the Chinese govern- 
ment has always been anomalous, but the exigencies of the war 
have shown up the relationship b^jtween Chinese and foreigners 
in a vivid and highly instructive light. Their rooted aversion to 
foreigners, which springs from fear, does not withhold the 
Chinese from flying to seek foreign aid in their extremity. On 
these occasions they betray a superstitious feeling towards the 
foreigners, regarding him as a sort of medicine man who can see 
through a millstone or work any other miracle. Their idea is to 
hire him by the job, and when the job is done cast him off as any 
other laborer. When war came upon them, the Chinese fleet was 
in a quandary, scuttling about from one snug harbor to another, 
the officers knowing nothing of their enemy, his movements, or 
his capacities. Though they were told they had the strongest 
fleet, they would have preferred not to put its presumed superi- 
ority to too severe a test, yet they had the imperial order to 
destroy the enemy unconditionally. In this extremity, the 
authorities cast about for extemporized foreigners to help them. 

A hardy Scandinavian came first to the rescue, offering to 
scout, pilot, or fight for them, run a torpedo boat, or do anything 
that youthful daring might legitimately venture. Only he stipu- 
lated for a twenty-knot steamer, performing, however, in the 
meantime, the emergency service in a common tugboat of less 
than half that speed. The promise of a fast steamer was broken, 
as every promise of every Chinese official, with few exceptions, 
from the beginning of time has been broken, and until the end of 
the war the hardy Norseman had to content himself on the deck 
of that same wet and lively tugboat. Comical indeed were the 
adventures he had with his convoys of troops, munitions, and 
stores, which never would follow the program laid down for 
them, sometimes bolting from the smoke of their own escort, and 
and he chasing them back into their own ports whose forts would 
open fire on him. This was the uniform experience of Europeans 



572 CHINESE RESISTANCE MELTING AWAY. 

who served the Chinese. The zeal and loyalty were all on the 
side of the aliens, whose hearts were broken in hopeless efforts to 
make the Chinese do their duty to their own country. Every 
foreigner who served China, no matter in what capacity, unless 
he belonged to the class which is content to draw pay and say 
nothing, had the same strenuous battle with his employers to 
compel them to interest themselves in their own service. The 
Chinese, on their part, failed to comprehend the folly of the 
foreigner who was not content to draw his pay and keep quiet. 

At Port Arthur there were some half dozen rival generals, but 
no one in command, each caring only for his own camp, and all at 
loggerheads with the others. The head of the port, the poor 
taotai, of the literary graduate order, was a brother of the 
present minister to England. There was also the admiral of the 
Pei-yang squadron, the most likely man to assume the responsi- 
bility of a general command ; but for fear of getting himself dis- 
liked by Taotai Kung or the generals, he kept his hands out of 
mischief. Finally, the English harbor master at Port Arthur 
went to Tien-tsin, and showed the condition of affairs to the 
viceroy. The result was that the viceroy sent instructions to 
Kung, which the latter ignored, flying from Port Arthur at the 
first chance. The collapse of Chinese resistance was proceeding 
at a rate which more than astonished the Japanese themselves. 
With Kinchow and Talien-wan captured almost without a blow, 
although amply supplied with the means of making a vigorous 
and protracted defense, and all the soldiers joining in an ignomin- 
ious rush for Port Arthur, it seemed that the Chinese were 
exhibiting all that reluctance to make trouble which character- 
ized Crockett's famous 'coon, demonstrating their willingness to 
come down to any required extent if Marshal Oyama would only 
consent not to shoot. 

The force under Yamagata, advancing from Feng-hwang in 
two divisions, one towards Port Arthur and one on the road to 
IMukden, met no resistance that was strong enough to intercept 
their advance, although there was some fighting at two or three 
stands. The right division advanced northwestward and entered 
the Manchoorian highlands by the Mo-thien-ling pass where a 
force was gathered to oppose it. The left division marched 



THE EMrEliOll llECEIVES VISITORS. 673 

towards Siu-Yen where another Chinese force wa&^encamped. It 
was the outpost of this division, pursuing the Chinese fugitives 
through Taku-shan, which made junction with the second army 
and completed the chain of communication. 

On the 9th of November the Japanese advanced and attacked 
Namquan pass, a strongly fortified neck between Society Bay and 
Talien-wan. There was no concerted defense, and each Chinese 
detachment was separately routed. Some thousands of refugees 
from Kinchow, who were flying towards villages in the vicinity, 
were mistaken for the enemy and were fired upon from the rear 
of the defenses, many being killed. 

Again the Chinese authorities in Peking decided to seek peace 
through the influence and intervention of western powers be- 
tween herself and Japan. On the morning of November 15 the 
emperor gave an audience to the diplomatic representatives in 
Peking, and all the ministers were present. His Majesty's action 
in thus receiving the diplomatists caused considerable stir in high 
Chinese circles, such a violation was it of imperial Chinese eti- 
quette. This audience was granted on the occasion of the pres- 
entation of letters of congratulation by the ministers, on the six- 
tieth birthday of the dowager empress. For the first time in 
Chinese history the audience was held in the imperial palace it- 
self. As an especial mark of courtesy the foreign ministers 
entered by the central gate, the gate through which the emperor 
only is usually allowed to pass. 

The ministers had audience with the emperor separately, and 
the reception was of a distinctly formal character, lasting but a 
few minutes. The audience took place in the hall where His 
Majesty was accustomed to hear the Confucian classics expounded. 
He was seated cross-legged on the Dragon Throne, surrounded 
by a numerous body of princes and officials. In front of His 
Majesty was placed a small table covered with yellow satin, 
which concealed the lower half of his person. In the short inter- 
views with each minister, who stood some ten feet from His 
Majesty, Prince Kung and Prince Ching acted alternately as 
masters of the ceremonies, and interpreted the speeches. The 
emperor spoke entirely in the Manchoo tongue. He appeared 
small and delicate, possessing a fine forehead, with expressive 



574 RETROSPECT OF OPERATIONS. 

brown eyes, tt.id an intellectual countenance. Tlie emperor's 
position, surrounded as he was by the dignitaries of his court, 
gave him an imposing appearance, although to a close observer 
lie looked and spoke like a lad of sixteen or seventeen years. 
His Majesty did not indulge in any social conversation with the 
visitors, but spoke formally to all. The interview was granted 
in the hope that western sympathy would be secured for the 
threatened orientals. 

Now that the approach to Port Arthur has brought the Jap- 
anese army almost to the walls, let us take a brief retrospect of 
the operations of the month. On the 24th of October the de- 
barkation of the second army on the Liao Tung peninsula began, 
to the northwest of the Elliot islands, at Kwa-yuen. No opposi- 
tion of any kind was encountered, but natural difficulties such as 
shallow beaches and great range of tides impeded the operation, 
so that all the stores w^ere not landed until the evening of the 
30th. The troops however were put in motion at once, and on 
October 28th the advance guard reached Pitszwo, a place of some 
importance at the junction of the Niuchwang, Port Arthur, and 
Taku-shan road. This place was twenty-five miles from the port 
of debarkation. Forty-five miles farther southwest, the troops 
came upon Kinchow, at the point where the two post roads of tlie 
peninsula met. On November 6 the Japanese captured this town 
without difficulty, and the next day Field Marshal Oyama's 
troops, pressing close on the heels of the flyiug enemy, reached 
the formidable isthmus a couple of hours after them, and to the 
accompaniment of a thunderous bombardment from the fleet, 
seized the defenses without a struggle. After such a singular 
display of blundering and cowardice on the part of the Chinese, 
what followed was not astonishing. The troops passing the isth- 
mus, found themselves on the shore of Talien-wan Bay, one of the 
best harbors in North China. Ample preparations for defense 
had indeed been made, but they were not utilized by the cow- 
ardly soldiers. The Japanese themselves were taken by surprise. 
They had not contemplated such a fiasco. 

Meanwhile the army had continued its march towards Port 
Arthur. Their line of communication to the rear, both by land 
and sea, was perfect. The commissariat was in the best condi- 



DISPOSITION OF THE TROOPS. 575 

tion for service. The hospital corps was active and modern in its 
manner of work. Nurses of the Red Cross Society, both men 
and women, accompanied the army and were provided with 
everything in the power of the commander to grant, being shown 
every courtesy. On the other hand, efforts made by hospital 
corps to reach the Chinese wounded from the Chinese side of the 
lines, met with utter failure. Two Red Cross nurses were turned 
back by the Chinese authorities at Tien-tsin, they declining to be 
responsible for the safety of non-combatants. The Taotai Sheng 
said, "We do not want to save our wounded. A Chinaman 
cheerfully accepts the fates that befall him." 

More than a fortnight had Marshal Oyama's army been march- 
ing in two divisions, eastern and western, down the peninsula to 
Port Arthur. The distance was less than fifty miles, but the 
country was a difficult one, there being practically no roads avail- 
able except in the cultivated valleys. As the army approached the 
objective point, there were occasional brushes with the enemy. 
At Ye-jo-shu on November 18, the army was more than half way 
from Kinchow to Port Arthur, and almost within sight of the 
goal. The next day's march was expected to bring the forces to 
camp on the safe side of the hills, within an hour's ride of Port 
Arthur, unless the Chinese should prevent. The next day was to 
be devoted to rest and to making sure that everything was prop- 
erly arranged and ready for the fray ; and it was confidently 
asserted that on the evening of the day after, November 21, the 
Japanese army would sleep peacefully in Port Arthur with 
Dragon Flags for bed quilts. 

On the morning of the 18th the Chinese made a reconnoissance 
in force, but retired without discovering much except a Japanese 
scouting party, which had a narrow escape. The army was 
moving along steadily with General Nishi leading the vanguard, 
General Yamaji, his staff, and the war correspondents all with the 
main body, and General Nogi bringing up the rear. The field 
marshal and his staff were also behind, and General Hasegawa 
was on the left wing, with his forces practically covering the 
country down to the south coast. In front and on the right as 
far as the not very distant north coast, small bodies of cavalry 
and infantrv were thrown out along the valleys. The country 
28 



676 VILLAGES AND PEOPLE. 

was magnificent for defensive purposes, studded with moderately 
steep hills, ranging from low undulations up to huge crags two 
thousand feet high, with hundreds of rocky ravines and gulleys ; 
broad fertile valleys never very level, intersected by winding 
water courses, like a labyrinth, almost dry at this season. 

Every two or three miles there were small villages roughly 
built of stone, nestling in hollows, with a few trees here and 
there. In and about the villages scores of natives crowded, 
curious to see the foreigners they feared ; on the hilltops were 
the more timorous ones, watching awhile and then hurrying away 
perhaps to tell the Chinese army what they had seen, but no at- 
tempt was ever made to stop them, except occasionally to ask a 
question or two. The road was the military road connecting Port 
Arthur with Kinchow, Niuchwang and Peking. There was not 
the least sign of anything having been done to keep it in repair 
since it was first cut a quarter of a century ago, the soft parts 
were deep rutted, and would be well-nigh impassable after heavy 
rain, while the rocky parts were jagged and strewn with stones of 
all sizes and shapes. Over the plains dust drove in black clouds 
which enveloped the column, suggesting the great dust storms of 
North China. There was bright sunny weather, but the nights 
were cold during the march down the peninsula. 

The day's march which had begun at seven in the morning, was 
to end at Ye-jo-shu, a big village near the sea, about ten miles 
northeast of Port Arthur. Before entering the village General 
Yamaji was met b}^ an aid-de-camp with news of fighting ahead, 
half way to Port Arthur. After a little hesitation the general 
granted the request of two of the correspondents to permit them 
to go forward, and they galloped off to the left in a southwesterly 
direction. Five miles away, among the hilltops, they caught a 
glimpse of a small, square, stone building, like a fort or watch- 
tower, and all around it could be discerned figures moving amidst 
clouds of smoke. The road was lined many yards on either side 
with men and animals, all racing in the same direction, spurting 
to be first at a ford or a narrow defile, urging and helping each 
other, and only afraid the enemy might retire too soon. 

It was an hour after midday, and Nishi's force had just begun 
to pitch camp south of Ye-jo-shu, when a courier arrived and an- 



A SKIRMISH ON THE ROAD. 



677 



nounced that the outer pickets were being forced and cut off. 
Firing had begun at eleven o'clock, but did not become serious 
until an hour later. Cavalry were rushed to the front, then in- 
fantry, then artillery and ammunition trains as they could be 
mustered and got away. The correspondents galloped hard where 
the land allowed, past soldiers looking to their rifles and pouches 
as they ran, past lumbering guns and kicking Miules, past panting 
coolies and Red Cross men, threading their way through the 
throng, cheering the wounded as they were taken to the rear, 
smiling bravely in spite of pain. Progress was delayed in the 



a\l; \fn\ 't^ 



^''''««'HWil*i^,. 




JAPANESE SKIRMISHERS BEFORE PORT ARTHUR. 

narrow lanes of a picturesque village, in a little wooded hollow 
where the artillery stuck in a broad, shallow stream. But by 
eager efforts it was got clear, and went on scrambling up the bank, 
splashing and stumbling through half dried ditches, plunging in 
the soft sand, and bumping over boulders, sparing neither man 
nor beast in the rush up the glen to the top of the hill. There 
stood Brigadier- General Nishi, watching a " strategic rearward " 
movement of the Chinese in the plain beyond, and directing oper- 
ations intended to cut them off if possible. Two strong columns 
were pushed out right and left, like the horns of a crescent 
among the hills encircling the valley, towards the sea northwest 



578 CHINESE ADVANCE AND RETREAT. 

and Port Arthur southwest. The artillery was already on the 
spot, but was not used yet ; there was no need to let the Chinese 
know how much strength was massing before Port Arthur. 

The engagement originated simply in a surprise meeting of 
opposing scouts. The Chinese had been creeping all over the 
valley and surrounding hills, along the ravines and behind the 
ridges ; Japanese had been striking out in twos and threes, recon- 
noitering many miles into the enemy's country. Suddenly shots 
were heard, and a general move was made on both sides for the 
main road in the center. The Japanese seeing no great force in 
front, and knowing how quickly help could be brought from be- 
hind them, stood their ground at first. About noon however 
three stong columns of Chinese with cavalry and artillery, prob- 
ably three thousand in all, filed out through the hills from main 
roads and by-paths leading from Port Arthur. The Japanese 
were in great danger of being surrounded before the advance 
guard could arrive. Only a score of cavalry and about two hun- 
dred infantry, they had to fight their way back at pretty close 
quarters, hand to hand at one point. The Chinese advanced with 
an immense display of banners almost to the foot of the hill where 
Nishi stood ; but the small force of three hundred Japanese cav- 
alry sent out to draw them on, seemed to scare them off, for by 
half past one they were in full retreat, in good order, over the 
same paths by which they had come, only just in time to escape 
the consummation of the Japanese flank movements. It was no 
use trying to pursue them into the hills about Port Arthur ; for 
as the full force of Nishi's brigade was collecting about the old 
stone monument the Chinese army was disappearing through the 
passes six miles away. 

A cavalry patrol of seven went forward and followed cautiously 
along the main road until dusk, turning back at a village just 
under the hills. They saw the bodies of the seven Japanese who 
had been left dead on the field, hacked, stripped, beheaded, and 
in two cases minus the right hand ; they saw the cavalryman's 
horse lying partly flayed with the skin turned back Avhere two 
large pieces of flesh had been carved out and carried away. They 
saw traces of the Chinese every few yards, but no bodies ; they 
must have been removed, for the men of Satsuma had not died 



7i 
PI 

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H 

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H 
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SKIRMISH AT DOJOSHU. 



581 



for nothing. They saw no signs of life except the patrols and 
men with stretchers for the dead, as they rode back slowly into 
camp at Ye-jo-shu, over ten miles of wretched roads, the horses 
nearly dead with the fatigue of a long day's work, stumbling at 
every step, and finally having to be left with the coolies while the 
riders walked most of the way. These coolies were simply won- 
derful in their endurance ; after the helter-skelter race for the 




JAPANESE SOLDIERS REMOVING DEAD BODIES. 



monument they came up smiling only a few minutes behind, in 
spite of their forty pound pack on their shoulders. 

The advance was slow during the 19th and 20th, the desire 
being to give the soldiers as much rest as possible before the hard 
work of the assault. On arriving at Dojoshu, a village at the foot 
of the hills near Port Arthur, about noon on the 20th, the troops 
were halted. Oyama had gone around to survey the field, and 
was expected back every minute, so the time of waiting was passed 



582 SHTRMISH AT DOJOSHU. 

ill a hurried midday meal. Suddenly the boom of heavy guns was 
heard, and the Cliinese were seen advancing in two columns, the 
right one by Suishiyeh, under the eyes of the troops who held the 
hill where the army had halted, and the left by way of the west 
side of the valley, out of sight behind the foot hills. They had at 
last learned that the invading armies had almost surrounded them, 
and must be dislodged if possible. But it was not possible now. 
It was too late. 

As soon as the advancing left column got within a mile, a 
portion of the Japanese artillery opened with shrapnel. The forts 
replied as soon as the positions were revealed. About 3:00 o'clock 
the Chinese column got within short range of the Japanese bat- 
teries, and was struck fairly in the center by the first two shells. 
The foolish banners dropped at once, and the column lay down. 
Bravely the line was reformed twice, but the shelling was too hot 
and too accurate. The Chinese got their field guns into position 
but could do nothing for practically none of the Japanese were 
exposed to them or to the forts. There was a little musketry fire 
on both sides, but of no importance. The artillery settled the 
affair, and by 5:00 o'clock the whole of the Chinese army had 
marched back into camp. The forts away on the sea-front got 
into action before dusk, and dropped a few 12-inch shells uselessly 
on the hilltops a mile beyond the Japanese ; but when the last 
streak of daylight had disappeared, all was quiet. During the 
rest of the night there was no sound nor sign on either side. 



THE CAPTURE OF PORT ARTHUR AND THE MAS- 

SACRB. 



Description of tbe Great Chinese Naval Station— Strength of its position— The Defenses- 
Arrangement of Japanese Troops, and Plan of Attack— The First Assault— Attack and 
Counter-Attack— Fall of the Chinese Forts— Action of the Fleet— The Japanese in tlie Streets 
of Port Arthur— Massacre of Fugitives— Japanese Red Cross Society and Its Previous Good. 
Work— Shocking Details of the Atrocities Committed After the Taking of the Town— Four 
Days of Violence and Cruelty— Stories of Eyewitnesses— Japanese Explanations and Ex- 
cuses-Effects of the Capture of Port Arthur on the War. 

Port Arthur, or to give it its native name, Lu-shun-kou, was 
the largest naval station possessed by the Chinese. Situated at 
the extreme southern end of the Liao-Tung peninsula, Port Arthur 
in its earlier days afforded convenient shelter for winter-bound 
junks employed in carrying timber from the Yalu River to the 
ports westward. At that period it was merely a small village 
consisting of less than one hundred mud houses, an occasional 
shop, and three or four inns. The prosperity of the town began 
with the determination of the authorities in 1881 to establish a 
naval dockyard at the port. At first the work was entrusted to 
native contractors, who however proved to be quite incapable of 
carrying out so extended an undertaking, and in 1887 a French 
company took up the contract, completing the w^ork in three 
years. The port then boasted of a large basin with a depth of 
twenty-five feet at low water. Spacious wharves and quays bor- 
dered this basin, and were connected with the workshops by a 
railroad. Two dry-docks were built ready for repairing ships of 
all sizes, from iron-clads to torpedo vessels. Foundries and work- 
shops were constructed on the most improved models, and con- 
taining the best modern machinery. The fact that the harbor 
was always free from ice, even in the coldest of winter, added to 
its value. By the time of the beginning of the war, the number 
of houses had multiplied until they were able to contain a popu- 
lation of about six thousand, exchisive of the garrison. There 
were also two large temples, two theatres, and several banks, be- 
sides the necessary stores and warehouses. 

(583) 



584 DEFENSES OF PORT ARTHUR. 

Such land defenses as this important dockyard possessed when 
the war broke out, were limited to nine small redoubts, connected 
by mud walls in some cases, on the north and northeast, and three 
redoubts on the southwest. On the north side a range of hills 
from three hundred and fifty to six hundred and fifty feet high, 
running from the sea to a shallow inlet of the harbor, enclosed 
the position. The tops of these hills were not more than two 
thousand five hundred yards from the dockyard and town. The 
original line of defenses was still closer to the town, and on the 
northern side was only abont one thousand yards in advance of 
the vital point. The strongest part of the position was a group 
of three coast batteries surrounded by a continuous mud wall, and 
crowning a hill on the right of the entrance to the harbor. The 
works all appeared to be designed for the protection of the nar- 
row harbor mouth, which at the entrance was only a few hundred 
yards wide. 

Upon the outbreak of the war, much additional fortification was 
carried out. The normal garrison of four thousand was greatly 
increased, and the troops who were drilled on the European model 
garrisoned the fortifications, and were to be further assisted in the 
defense of the port by submarine mines and a fleet of torpedo 
boats. The forts were armed with heavy Krupp guns, and the 
artillery men were especially trained by a German officer. 
Within the defenses there were all of the most recent scientific 
appliances, electric search lights, torpedo factories, etc., and the 
forts were connected by telephone. 

The Japanese army broke camp at Dojoshu village before Port 
Arthur at 1:00 A. M. on November 21, and marching by circuit- 
ous and very difficult routes over the outlying hills, sometimes 
quite close to the sea at Pigeon Bay, got into line of battle before 
daylight. The moon was in the last quarter, and gave very little 
light ; the sky was quite clear, and the weather dry and cool. 
The positions were as heretofore described. 

The key of the position was the northwest triple fort on Table 
Mountain, and there the whole weight of the opening attack was 
concentrated. The field marshal and his staff were mostly near 
the center of the line, and the heavy siege artillery was planted 
on the best position available near the center, and north to north- 



POSITION OF THE TROOPS. 585 

east of Port Arthur, five or six miles away, with Suishij^eh and 
the forts right opposite and well in range. The first division un- 
der General Yamaji occupied the right wing, and had the rough- 
est and most broken country to traverse. Nine batteries of field 
and mountain guns were got into fine positions, on lofty ridges, 
nearly on the same level and almost within rifle shot of the forts ; 
while behind the artillery lay large bodies of infantry ready for a 
rush. Brigadier-General Nishi had charge of the extreme right, 
and Brigadier-General Nogi the right center, near the field mar- 
shal. On the left, Brigadier-General Hasegawa had his mixed 
brigade rather wider apart, as the hills were not near enough to 
aid greatly in an assault on the forts ; nor were the hills very good 
as artillery positions. Hasegawa had only two batteries, but the 
flying column under Lieutenant-Colonel Masamitsu, that had 
moved from San-ju-li Ho on the south shore road was with him, 
and had a mountain battery beside two battalions of infantry and 
a thousand cavalry. 

The first shot was fired within two or three minutes of seven 
o'clock, from a battery of thirty guns, just as the day was becom- 
ing light enough for gun practice. Then for an hour the Japanese 
guns blazed into the Table- Top forts, which with their guns of all 
sizes kept up a spirited reply. In the forts, and in the rifle pits 
on the hillside under the walls, were about one thousand infantry ; 
near the Japanese batteries trenches had been dug in the stony 
ground during the night, and sheltered ravines had been carefully 
selected, where practically the whole of the first division, at least 
ten thousand men, lay in wait. The Chinese shells came close by 
their ears in dozens, bursting or burying themselves on the other 
side of the little ravine behind. Many of the boulders about were 
struck, but strange to say not a man was killed. In the first half 
hour there must have been three hundred shells over an area of 
as many yards, but the average elevation was slightly too high, 
and no damage was done. 

Meantime the Japanese were getting to work all along the line. 
Each battery had a telescope fixed to bear on the desired target, 
though the dense morning mist and the thick clouds of smoke 
frequently made it quite impossible to see for a time. It was easy 
enough to tell that the Japanese had got the reins from the very 



586 BEGINNING WARM WORK. 

first. The opening shot of the day, which all watched with in^ 
tense interest, had struck within five 3^ards short of a Krupp gun 
in the nearest of the three forts. The closeness of this shot, in 
semi-darkness, at an unknown range estimated to be one thousand 
yards, was a fair indication of what followed. One by one the 
Chinese guns ceased fire towards eight o'clock, and suddenly a 
great shouting came across the valley from the fort. The Jap- 
anese infantry were singing a march song as the}^ charged the 
forts, and in a few minutes a huge cheer ran all along the line 
over the hilltops and In the valleys where the rest of the Japanese 
were, and great cries of " Kot-ta — Victory ! " The Chinese emptied 
their guns and small arms as the Japanese swarmed up on three 
sides, firing every few 3'ards and then rushing forward. The 
enemy, not numerous enough for hand to-hand combat, waited no 
longer but fled over the edge of the hill, down to the fortified 
camps before the town, and the Table Mountain forts displayed 
the flag of the Rising Sun. 

After this first success, the rest of the battle was practically 
little more than a question of time, although there was still a 
great deal of hard fighting to follow. Neither side had yet lost 
more than fifty or sixty in killed and wounded, and there were still 
many thousand Chinese soldiers to be considered. Had the forts 
been fully manned with plenty of picked marksmen, they should 
have cost the invaders several hundreds if not thousands and 
should have held out longer. And if the Chinese artillery had 
been as accurate and steady as the Japanese, the vast difference in 
position and shelter should have more than compensated for the 
disparity in numbers. Careful planning, rapidity of attack, and 
individual bravery were all on the Japanese side. The Chinese 
did not, indeed, run at the sound of shooting, as has been said. 
They stood their ground manfully and tried their best to shoot 
straight up to the last minute ; but they never attempted to face 
the foe hand to hand to *' Die in the last ditch." 

Only one definite counter-attack was made ; a large force, 
probably near two thousand of Chinese infantry with a few 
cavalry, marched out around the hills westward, north of the Port 
Arthur lagoon, to turn the Japanese right flank. General Yamaji, 
who never showed fatigue all day but kept near the front calmly 



ONLY A QUESTIOX OF TIME. 



587 



and resolutely at every move, detected tlie attempt at once, and 
dispatched Brigadier- General Nislii with the third regiment and 
the mountain battery to meet it. The extremely rough, broken 
country rendered movement slow, and this part of the battle 
dragged on until the afternoon. 

The second regiment had occupied the Isusen forts shortly 
after eight o'clock, and the artillery was then ordered forward. 
The guns had come on late from Talien-vvan, by forced marches 
night and day, over a very difficult route, and only arrived at 











JAPANESE ATTACK ON PORT ARTHUR. 

Dojoshu on the night of the 20th, after the enemy^s attempt to 
dislodge the field and mountain guns. The same night twenty of 
these large guns had been taken into position for the fight north 
and west of Suishiyeh, and from one to three kilometers from the 
nearest forts. They were supported by the whole of the first 
division, fifteen thousand men less twenty-four hundred men de- 
tailed to garrison Kinchow and Talien-wan. Deducting also the 
regiment of twenty-four hundred sent to head off the flank move- 
ment in the west, there were ten thousand left before the Table 



588 JAPAESE OPERATIONS. 

Mountain forts. Not more than a third actually took part in the 
storming. The rest were waiting ready for use if needed, all 
along the line from the advance guard under Nishi, near the 
lagoon, to the center under Nogi, about Peh-ka-shu village, where 
the skirmish was on the 19th. Here, midway between the camp 
at Dojoshu and the large village of Suishiyeh, Field Marshal 
Oyama and his staff remained during the first part of the day, 
communicating his orders by aides-de-camp, never by flag, or 
flash signal, or bugle, to Yemaji and Hasegawa on the left. 

Peh-ka-shu was about a kilometer north of Suishiyeh, and 
Suishiyeh about five kilometers north of Port Arthur town, and 
one kilometer from Table Mountain fort on the east, and Pine 
Tree fort on the west. About half way between Peh-ka-shu and 
the sea, southeastward, was So tai-shu where Hasegawa faced the 
line of eight forts along a wall of five or six kilometers. Of course 
this brigade did not cover all the country; he had about five 
thousand men near the center and two thousand near the sea. 
The five thousand were about equally divided between Shoju and 
Niryo, each one regiment of two thousand four hundred with 
artillery. In attacking, two battalions of eight hundred each 
formed the front, and one was held behind until within range. 
Then the whole opened out in skirmishing order and charged, and 
the Chinese exploded several mines, but without effect, as the 
fuses were not well timed. Some electric mines were also used 
but wrongly timed. 

While Yamaji was attacking the northwest forts, Hasegawa 
engaged the attention of the northeast forts, in order to prevent 
them from concentrating fire on the Japanese right. No serious 
attack was made by the mixed brigade until the first division had 
made the winning move. Thus the Chinese right wasted their 
energy on almost bare country, while the weight of the Japanese 
attack fell on the almost entirely isolated Chinese left. The 
strategy succeeded completely, for by the time the Chinese dis- 
covered their mistake it was too late. The Shoju, or Pine Tree 
Hill forts opened a heavy fire across Suishiyeli plain, on the hills 
occupied by the Japanese ; but Isu was already finished and the 
whole weight of Japanese artillery was centered on the largest 
Shoju fort. Thus the Japanese right wing, which had been briefly 





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TACTICS OF THE ARMIES. 691 

threatened by the forts on its left and the Chinese column on its 
right, was never really in any danger, for while the third regi- 
ment under Nishi was storming Isu, the second regiment with its 
back to the third beat off the enemy's infantry, and the mountain, 
field, and siege batteries gave Shoju far more than it could face. 

It was surprising how the Chinese stood to their guns ; they 
worked like heroes and aimed their guns well. But what could a 
fort or a half-dozen of forts do, against fifty guns hidden in the 
mountains, moving to get better positions when possible, and fir- 
ing systematically and simultaneously at one point. 

A furious fusillade was maintained by both sides for nearly two 
hours ; but the Chinese shots got wilder and wilder as the 
Japanese improved, until finally the Shoju magazine blew up and 
set fire to the sheds inside of the forts. Then shortly after eleven 
o'clock, Hasegawa charged all along the line, and took all the 
eight forts one by one. The big Shoju fort, which had done such 
determined work was, of course, evacuated as soon as it caught 
fire, and for two hours afterward the ruined wood-work burned 
and the piles of ammunition continued to explode. The second 
largest fort, Liang Leong, or Double Dragon, held out longest. 
Twice the Japanese advancing along a ravine tried to break cover 
and rush up the hill, but were met by bombs from the mortars, 
and had to get back into shelter and try musketry again. Again 
they came up magnificently at their officers' call, and scrambled 
up the mountain side in the teeth of a galling cross fire. At the 
ramparts, not a Chinaman remained. They fled from fort to fort 
along the high wall, firing as they went, and making a stand at every 
point till too close for rifles. All over the hills they were chased 
and for many miles around hardly a hundred yards could be 
passed without sight of a Chinese corpse. Those who escaped got 
down into the town with the main body of the Chinese army. 

Meanwhile there had been heavy firing, chiefly infantry, be- 
tween Suishiyeh, Isu and Port Arthur. There was a flat tract 
about three miles square, with low ridges of mud and stones 
across, behind which the Chines riflemen lay. They had tried 
to make a stand about the walled camps below Isu, but shells 
and shrapnel soon cleared them out. The Japanese then mus- 
tered in the same place about two thousand men from the right 



692 THE BATTLE BECOMES DESPERATE. 

wing and right center, increasing in number every minute, and 
ready to force the town itself. Between these camps and the big 
drill ground at the entrance to Port Arthur were some three thou- 
sand Chinese in skirmishing order, making the most of ever}^ bit 
of cover and firing desperately. Behind them the Chinese field 
guns, some dozen in number, tried to locate the enemy and occa- 
sionally succeeded ; one shell shattered the corner of the largest 
camp, where a dense body of Japanese stood behind the wall wait- 
ing for orders, and killed several of them. Still farther back, a big 
hill which threatened the town swarmed with riflemen, who were 
sheltered by piles of stones and abundantly supplied with am- 
munition. Last of all the shore forts were firing a little, but 
could not aid much in the melee. 

Steadily the Japanese crept forward from cover to cover, as- 
sisted by artillery from Suishiyeh, until the parade ground and 
the general's pavilion overlooking it had been mastered and 
cleared, and nothing remained but the trenches of Boulder hill, or 
Hakugoku, the town itself, and the shore forts. Along the south 
of the parade ground ran a broad, shallow stream that came 
down the Suishij^eh valley, flowing into a creek west of Hakugoku. 
Three times the Japanese came out from behind the parade 
ground wall, to cross the bridge, but were driven back by a with- 
ering hail of bullets. At last they forced it and rushed across 
with a cheer, and spread out over the face of the hill pursuing the 
Chinese up to the town itself. The Second Regiment fired vol- 
leys as it advanced to the town. Not a shot was fired in reply. 
The battle was over as far as Port Arthur was concerned. 

The Japanese fleet was not inactive during the assault by the 
land forces. At 10:30 A. M. the Japanese vessels, comprising the 
Matsusima, Chij'oda, Itsukusima, Hasidate, Yoshino, Naniwa, 
Akitsushima, Takachiho, Fuso, Hij'ei, and Kongo steamed past 
Port Arthur, rounding the promontory. The Chiyoda here be- 
gan to fire shells over the forts at a very long range. A tugboat 
from Taku was searched by the Japanese, but was allowed to pro- 
ceed. At 4:00 o'clock the fleet returned, passing Port Arthur 
again, at a distance of about six miles, and one of the big forts 
fired at the Chiyoda but failed to hit her. Tlie admiral did not 
respond to the fire nor alter his course but steamed slowly on. A 



WORK OF THE FLEET. 



593 



few minutes later, as the Chinese troops were hurrying down to 
the harbor, ten torpedo boats dashed from the fleet, separating in 
pairs and firing three-pounder Hotchkiss guns at the exposed 
soldiers. The fire was briskly responded to by one fort to the 
left of the harbor, but not a single shot told. A steamer which 
had towed a junk out of Port Arthur with Taotai Kung in it, 
making his escape, was cut off on her return and ran ashore, 
where the crew deserted her and took to the hills. 

As the Japanese troops reached the edge of the town, driving 



— H-l 




PORT ARTHUR FROM THE BAY. 



the Chinese before them, a halt was called before the army 
marched in, as the force was not yet assembled in strength. This 
delay enabled the Chinese to take to boats, and scores of sampans 
and junks were soon moving off, some over the lagoon to the 
mountain fastnesses of Lao-tieh-shan promontory in the south- 
west, and some out to sea, in full view of the Japanese fleet. 
When the first division was all assembled before the town, with the 
left wing 'to the northeast in case the enemy should rally and try 
to dash out, the order was given to enter the town and storm the 



^^■^ PORT ARTHUR TAKEN. 

inner fort, Golden Hill. The Second Regiment led, firing vollevs 
ftle by file through the streets, past the docks, and the burning 
army stores, up the hill, and into Oguusan, which was practically 
abandoned without an effort at defense. 

During the evening Hasegawa's brigade went over the hills 
and occupied the two eastern shore forts called the "Mule's 
Jaws." The following morning Yamaji's first regiment marched 
around the lagoon and occupied the peninsula forts, which had 
been deserted during the night. Where the Chinese all vanished 
to, appeared rather a mystery to the victors. It was found that 
most of them got away along tlie beach past Hasegawa, and the 
rest westward in small parties under cover of darkness. In such 
a w.de stretch of hilly country, it was easy for them to conceal 
themselves if they once escaped the vicinity of their foes. Port 
Arthur was in full possession of Marshal Oyama, with the fleet 
under Admiral Ito safe in the harbor. 

Now comes the most painful recital of the war. It is difficult 
to reconcile in any one's mind the pretensions to enlightened 
civilization which the Japanese had claimed, with the horrible 
atrocities committed by the victorious army during the days 
following the capture of Port Arthur. Let us glance at what had 
been the history of Japanese treatment of the wounded in 
previous battles. 

It will be remembered that in a foregoing chapter of this work, 
the proclamation of the Japanese minister of war enjoining 
humanity upon all his soldiers was quoted, and that it was stip- 
ulated that the ignorance of the Chinese as to the true meaning 
of humanity would cause them to commit atrocities no doubt, 
which must not be imitated in retaliation by Japanese troops. At 
Hiroshima, the military headquarters of Japan during tlie war, was 
the principal military hospital and the establishment of the Red 
Cross society, which to investigators were a remarkable revelation 
after all that had been said about Japanese inhumanity and in- 
difference to suffering. As long ago as 1877, when the Satsuma clan 
raised the standard of rebellion, a benevolent society was founded 
to aid and care for the sick and wounded, enemies as well as 
friends, after the manner of the European Red Cross societies. 
■Subscriptions at once began to pour in, the emperor and empress 



THE RED CROSS SOCIETY. 6% 

Fielping greatly, and throughout the Satsuina war the young or- 
ganization distinguished itself admirably. From that time special 
efforts were made to bring the societ}^ up to the high standard of 
its western models in ever}' uay ; and when the government of 
Japan in 1886 declared its adhesion to the Geneva convention, the 
^'Hakuaisha" was reorganized and formally enrolled on the 
international list of Red Cross societies. Since then it had made 
rapid progress, its membership reaching nearly thirty thousand in 
1893, with funds liberally augmented by the emperor, and an 
annual income before the war with China of $70,000. Since 1887, 
a large number of women, including members of the royal family 
and of the nobility, have become qualified nurses of the order and 
have taken instruction in the making of articles for use in its 
work. The objects of the society, as set forth in the rules, are to 
help the sick and wounded in time of war, and to prepare for the 
same by organizing a trained staff in time of peace. The last 
activity of the Red Cross society prior to the war in 1891, when 
the central provinces of Japan were devastated by an eartliquake 
which caused the loss of more than seven thousand lives, besides 
untold suffering. 

With the object of training a staff properly, the society in 1886 
established a hospital of its own in Tokio, and three years later, 
when this one was outgrown, a new one was erected on a splendid 
site provided by the emperor and empress. The hospital itseii 
covers some two acres, and the grounds about ten. After the 
war began, the membership funds and operations of the society 
were all multiplied about three times above normal. All the 
working staff was under the control of the army medical staff, 
and operated in conjunction with the army corps. At Hiroshima 
in the permanent military hospital, Chinese wounded by the 
scores and hundreds were received and treated with the same 
care that was given to the Japanese. For order, cleanliness, and 
convenience these institutions would reflect credit on any country. 
Just prior to the battle of Port Arthur, the female nurses of the 
Red Cross societies in Hiroshima numbered eighty-eight and more 
were soon to come from Tokio. Like the men they had uniforms of 
European pattern, and all wore the badge of membership. Many 
had other badges representing special qualifications or services. 
29 



J596 THE HORRORS OF TORT ARTHUR. 

In Corea there were two hospitals managed by the Red Cross 
societ}^ one near Chemulpo and the other near Ping- Yang. At 
the seat of war the society had a staff of forty, consisting of a 
chief manager, a secretary, a treasurer, five doctors, two phar- 
macists in charge of the drug supplies and thirty male nurses. 

To those who love contrasts, it will be startling to note the dif- 
ference between the spirit of the Japanese Red Cross society, 
which was doing everything that humanity and science could sug- 
gest for wounded Chinamen, and that of the victorious army at 
Port Arthur in its atrocious butchery of unarmed fugitives. 

The execrable deeds which followed the taking of the place 
pushed into the background the question of how many hundreds 
on one side or the other fell in tlie battle. The massacre of the 
whole remaining population of Port Arthur, between two and 
three thousand, without distinction of age or sex, and that by the 
soldiers of Marshal Oyama's army, for a time passed practically 
without mention in the newspapers of England and the United 
States. Three of the famous correspondents who entered the 
town with the Japanese army were Creelman of the New York 
World, Villiers of the London Standard, and Cowan of the Lon- 
don Times. The first detailed description of the atrocities wit- 
nessed by these correspondents was that made by Creelman, and for 
a time after his story was published, other leading American jour- 
nals denounced it as false. One month later it was found that 
Creelman's shocking story was true in every essential particular. 
No words except those from the lips of men who saw the acts of 
inhuman barbarity can justly describe the scenes. Said Cowan, 
in a letter dated at Kobe twelve days after the taking of Port 
Arthur : 

*' What happened after Port Arthur fell into Japanese hands, 
it would have been impossible and even dangerous to report while 
on the spot. At the earliest possible moment, every foreign cor- 
respondent escaped from the horrifying scene to a place where 
freedom of speech would be safe; and as we sailed away from 
Port Arthur on the Nagoto Maru eight days ago, almost aston- 
ished to find ourselves escaping alive from the awful epidemic of 
incredible brutality, the last sounds we heard were those of shoot- 
ing, of wanton murder, continued the fifth day after the great 



SLAUGHTER WITHOUT REASON. 697 

battle. When the Japanese army entered Port Arthur on the 21st, 
beginning a little after two o'clock in the afternoon, the Chinese 
had resisted desperately till the last, retreating slowly from cover 
to cover, until they got back among the buildings on the out- 
skirts of the town. Then at last all resistance ceased ; they were 
thoroughly defeated, and made a stampede through the streets 
trying to hide or to escape, east or west as best they might. I was 
on the brow of a steep hill called " White Boulders," in Japan- 
ese Hakugoku, commanding a close view of the whole town at 
my feet. When I saw the Japanese march in, firing up the 
streets and into the houses, chasing and killing every live thing 
that crossed their path, I looked hard for the cause. I saw prac- 
tically every shot fired, and I swear positively that not one came 
from any but Japanese. I saw scores of Chinese hunted out of 
cover, shot down, and hacked to pieces, and never a man made 
any attempt to fight. All were in plain clothes, but that meant 
nothing for the soldiers flying from death got rid of their uni- 
forms how they might. Many went down on their knees, suppli- 
cating with heads bent to the ground in kowtow, and in that at- 
titude were butchered mercilessly by the conquering army. 
Those who fled were pursued and sooner or later were done to 
death. Never a shot came from a house as far as I could see, and 
I could hardly believe my eyes, for, as my letters have shown, 
the indisputable evidence of previous proceedings had filled me 
with admiration of the gentle Japanese. So I watched intensely 
for the slightest sign of cause, confident that there must be some, 
but I saw none whatever. If ray eyes deceived me, others were 
in the same plight ; the military attaches of England and Amer- 
ica were also on Boulder Hill and were equally amazed and hor- 
rified. It was a gratuitous ebullition of barbarism they declared, 
a revolting repudiation of pretended humanity. 

" Gun shots behind us turned our attention to the north creek 
leading into the broad lagoon. Here swarms of boats were mov- 
ing away to the west, loaded to twice their normal limit with 
panic-stricken fugitives, men, women, and children, who had 
stayed too late in the beleaguered town. A troop of Japanese 
cavalry with an officer, was at the head of the creek, firing sea- 
ward, slaughtering all within range. An old man and two chil- 



598 MURDER OF HELPLESS FUGITIVES. 

dreii of ten and twelve years had started to wade across the 
creek ; a horseman rode into the water and slashed them a dozen 
times with his sword. The sight was more than mortal man 
could stand. Another poor wretch rushed out at the back of a 
house as the invaders entered the front door, firing promiscuously. 
He got into a back lane, and a moment later found himself cor- 
nered between two fires. We could hear his cry for quarter as 
he bowed his head in the dust three times ; the third time he rose 
no more, but fell on his side, bent double in the posture of peti- 
tion for the greatly vaunted mercy of the Japanese, who stood 
ten paces off and exultantl}^ emptied their guns into him. 

"More of these piteous deaths we saw, unable to stay the 
hands of the murderers; more and more, far more than one can 
relate, until sick and saddened beyond the power of words to 
tell, we slowly made our way in the gathering gloom down the 
hill, picking a path through rifle-pits thick with Chinese cart- 
ridge cases, and back to headquarters. There at the Chinese 
general's pavilion, facing a spacious parade ground, Field Mar- 
shal Oyama and all his oflficers assembled, amid the strains of 
strange music from tlie military band, now a wiercl, characteristic 
Japanese march, now a lively French waltz, and ending with the 
impressive national anthem, " Kaminoga," and a huge roar from 
twenty thousand throats, " Banzai Nippon ! " All were overflow- 
ing with enthusiastic patriotism and the delight of a day's work 
done, a splendid triumph after a hard fought fight; none of the 
Japanese dreamed that their guests from the west were filled with 
horror, indignation, and disgust. It was a relief to get away 
from tliat flood of fiendish exultation, to escape from the effusive 
glee of our former friends, who would overwhelm us with their 
attention which we loathed like caresses from the ghouls of hell. 
To have to remain among men who could do what we had seen 
was little short of torture. 

" Robbed of our sleep on the eve of the battle, and utterly ex- 
hausted, we lay long next morning until the sound of shooting 
roused us. To our surprise and dismay we found that the mas- 
sacre of Wednesday, which might have been explained tliough 
certainly not excused on the ground of excitement in the heat 
of battle, the flush of victory, and tlie knowledge of dead com- 



WOMEN AND CHILDREN BUTCHERED. 



599 



rades mutilated, was being continued in cold blood now. Thurs- 
day, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were spent by the soldiery in 
murder and pillage from dawn to dark, in mutilation, in every con- 
ceivable kind of nameless atrocity, until the town became a 
ghastly Inferno to be remembered with a fearsome shudder until 
one's dying day. I saw corpses of women and children, three or 
four in the streets, more in the water ; I stooped to pick some of 
them out to make sure that there could be no possibility of mis- 




JAPANESE SOLDIERS MUTILATING BODIES. 

take. Bodies of men strewed the streets in hundreds, perhaps 
thousands, for we could not count — some with not a limb unsev- 
ered, some with heads hacked, cross-cut, and split lengthwise, some 
ripped open, not by chance but with careful precision, down and 
across, disemboweled and dismembered, with occasionally a dag- 
ger or bayonet thrust in private parts. I saw groups of prisoners 
tied together in a bunch with their hands behind their backs, rid- 
dled with bullets for five minutes, and then hewn in pieces. I saw 



600 JAPANESE ALLEGATIONS. 

a junk stranded on tlie beach, filled with fugitives of either sex 
and of all ages, struck by volley after volley until— I can say no 

more. 

*' Meanwhile every building in the town v^as thoroughly ran- 
sacked, every door burst open, every box and closet, every nook 
and cranny looted. What was worth taking was taken, and the 
rest destroyed or thrown into the gutter. Even Mr. Hart, Rent- ' 
er's war correspondent on the Chinese side, whom we found when 
we entered Port Arthur, was robbed of every thing but the clothes . 
he had on, while his cook and two scully boys in the same house 
were shot at their kitchen stove, while doing nothing but their reg- 
ular work. Mr. Hart himself had told the Chinese hotel keeper be- 
fore the battle not to leave the town, because the Japanese would 
certainly do no harm to citizens or property. So thoroughly had been 
the discipline maintained, and so perfect the show of civilized 
methods in warfare, that the present outburst of cold-blooded bru- 
tality was the very last thing to have been thought possible. 

" The Japanese alleged that the populace of the town had been 
armed with guns and express ammunition, and that the army when 
entering the town had been attacked from the houses. I did af- 
terward find cartridges such as these lying about ; but I never saw 
one fired. I never saw any attack from the houses. I saw the 
Japanese firing before they entered, and as they entered, without 
intermission. 

'' The Japanese who had been wounded and killed or captured 
in several skirmishes before the day of the battle, had been horri- 
bly mutilated by the Chinese. We saw several bodies along the 
line of march, and it is said others were found in the town, wnth 
hands and heads cut off, stomachs opened, etc. And some were 
burnt at Kinchow, and one said to be burnt in Port Arthur. More- 
over, placards have been found offering rewards and stating prices, 
for heads, hands, or prisoners. So the Japanese soldiers swore re- 
venge, and they carried out their vow thoroughly in barbarous 
eastern style. All that can be said is that the Chinese committed 
nameless atrocities which the Japanese repaid a hundred fold. 

" It is unavoidable that innocent persons must be killed in war. 
I do not blame the Japanese for that alone ; Chinese soldiers dress 
as peasants and retain their weapons, and attack when they can 



COWAN'S FINAL OPINION. 601 

under cover of disguise. It therefore becomes excusable to some 
extent to regard all Chinese as enemies, with or without uniform ; 
in that the Japanese are plainly justified. But regarding tlieni as 
enemies, it is not humanity to kill them ; they should be taken 
alive. T saw hundreds killed after being captured and tied. Per- 
haps tliat is not barbarity ; at any rate it is the truth. On the day 
of the battle, soldiers fresh from the excitement of a hard strug- 
gle cannot lielp being somewhat bloodthirsty, perhaps. At any 
rate their nerves are tense, their blood is up, they are violently ex- 
cited. Not that it is right to be so, but it is usual. But the bat- 
tle was on the 21st, and still on the 25th, after four nights' sleep, 
the slaughter was continued. Some allowance must be made for 
the intense indignation of the soldiers whose comrades had been 
mutilated by the Chinese. Indignation is perfectly justifiable ; 
the Japanese were quite right to feel incensed. But why should 
they express themselves in the very same barbarous manner? Is 
it because they are also barbarous at heart like the Chinese ? Of 
course they say ' No.' Then they will have to prove it, for the 
fact remains that a dozen white men saw these Japanese commit 
these savageries for four clear da3'S after the day of the fight." 

Creelman's story was as graphic and as shocking in its details, 
and included many of the same sights which were related by 
Cowan. He says in part : " The story of the taking of Port Ar- 
thur will be one of the blackest pages in history. An easy vic- 
tory over a Chinese mob, and the possession of one of the most 
powerful strongholds in the world, was too great a strain upon the 
Japanese character,which relapsed in a few hours back to the state 
from which it awakened a generation ago. Almost the entire 
population found in Port Arthur have been massacred, and the 
work of butchering unarmed and unresisting inhabitants has 
continued day after day until the streets are choked with corpses. 
The march upon helpless Peking or a surrender of China to her 
foe is a small matter in its vital significance compared with this 
appalling crime against the nineteenth centur}'-, at a moment when 
Japan asks to be admitted as an equal into the family of civilized 
nations. The Japanese lost about fifty dead and two hundred and 
fifty wounded in carrying a fortress that would have cost them ten 
thousand men had it been occupied by European or American 



602 CREELMAN'S GRAPHIC ACCOUNT. 

troops, and yet the sense of uncontrolled, power which let loose 
the savagery which had been pent up in the Japanese under the 
external forms of civilization, has proved the utter incapability 
of the nation to stand the one sure test. Japan stands disgraced 
before the world. She has violated the Geneva convention, dis- 
honored and profaned the Red Cross, and banished humanit}^ and 
mercy from her councils. Victory and a new lust for dominion 
have set her mad. 

" All attempts to justify the massacre of the wretched people 
of Port Arthur and the mutilation of their bodies, are mere after- 
thoughts. The evidence is clear and overwhelming that it was 
the sudden breaking down of Japanese civilization under the 
stress of conscious power. The tremendous facts revealed by the 
war so far are, that there is practically no Chinese army in ex- 
istence ; that Japan has been arraying herself in the outward 
garb of civilization, without having gone through the process of 
moral and intellectual development necessary to grasp the ideas 
upon which modern civilization is founded ; that Japan at heart 
is a barbarous nation, not yet to be trusted with sovereign power 
over the lives and property of civilized men. Up to the moment 
Port Arthur was entered I can bear witness that both of her 
armies now in the field were chivalrous and generous to the 
enemy. There was not a stain on her flag. But it was all blind 
sentiment. The Japanese were playing with the Red Cross as 
with a new toy and their leaders were never weary of calling the 
attention of other nations to the spectacle. 

" When Port Arthur fell, not even the presence of the horrified 
British and American military attaches and of foreign newspaper 
correspondents served to check the carnival of murder. I have 
again and again tried to save helpless men from slaughter by 
protest and entreaty, but in vain. The sign of the Red Cross 
was jeered at, and in the midst of the orgies of blood and rapine, 
with troops tramping over the bodies of unarmed victims who lost 
their homes, the fat field marshal and his generals paced smiling, 
content at the sound of rifle shots mingling with the music of the 
national hymn and the clink of wine glasses. I am satisfied that 
not more than one hundred Chinamen were killed in fair battle 
at Port Arthur and that at least two thousand unarmed men were 



ADDITIONAL TESTIMONY. 



603 



put to death. It may be called the natural result of the fury of 
troops who have seen the mutilated corpses of their comrades, or 
it may be called retaliation, but no civilized nation could be 
capable of the atrocities I have witnessed in Port Arthur. Every 
scene I have described I have looked upon myself, either in the 
presence of the American and British military attaches, or in the 
company of Mr. Cowan or Mr. Villiers. The field marshal and 
all his generals were aware that the massacre was being continued 
day after day. 

" We watched the Second regiment as it marched into town, 
firing volleys as it advanced. Not a shot was fired in reply. 
The soldiers had made their escape, and the frightened inhabi- 
tants were cowering in the streets. 
As the troops moved on they saw 
the heads of their slain comrades 
hanging by cords with the noses 
and ears gone. There was a rude 
arch in the main street decorated 
with bloody Japanese heads. A 
great slaughter followed. The in- 
furiated soldiers killed every one 
they saw. I can say as an eyewit- 
ness that the wretched people of 
Port Arthur made no attempt to 
resist the invaders. Just below me 
was a hospital flying the Red Cross 
flag, but the Japanese fired upon 

the unarmed men who came out of the doorway. A merchant in 
fur cap knelt down and raised his hands in entreaty. As the 
soldiers shot him he put his hands over his face. I saw his corpse 
the next day, slashed beyond recognition. Women and children 
were hunted and shot at as they fled to the hills with their pro- 
tectors. All along the streets I could see the bleeding store 
keepers shot and sabered. A junk was discovered in the harbor 
crowded with fugitives. A platoon was stretched across the end 
of a wharf, and fired into the boat until every man, woman nnd 
child was killed. The torpedo boats outside had already sunk 
ten junks filled with terror stricken people. 




ycr 



MARSHAL OYAMA. 



604 DETAILS OF THE ATROCITIES. 

" The Japanese had tasted blood, and the work went on the 
second day. I saw four men walking peaceably along the edge 
of the town, one man in the street carried a naked infant in his 
arms. As he ran he dropped the baby. I found it an hour later, 
dead. The third, the father of the baby tripped and fell. In an 
instant a soldier had pounced upon his back Avith a naked bayonet 
in his hand. I ran forward and made the sign of the Red Cross 
on the white non-combatant's bandage around my arm, but the 
appeal was useless. The baj^onet was plunged three or four 
times into the neck of the prostrate man, and then he was left to 
gasp his life out on the ground. I hurried back to my quarters 
and awakened Frederick Villiers, who went with me to the spot 
where I left the dying man. He was dead, but his wounds were 
still smoking. 

" While we were bending over the corpse we heard shooting a 
few yards around a road, and went forward to see what it was. 
We saw an old man standing with his hands tied behind his back. 
On the ground beside him were the writhing bodies of three other 
pinioned men who had just been shot. As we advanced a soldier 
shot the old man down. This was the third day after the battle. 
Next day I went in company with Mr. Villiers to see a courtyard 
filled with mutilated corpses. As we entered we surprised two 
soldiers bending over one of the bodies. They had ripped open 
the corpse. When they saw us they cowered and tried to hide 
their faces." 

It is but fair to the Japanese to relate what they had to offer 
in contravention of these shocking reports so well substantiated. 
The Japanese minister to Great Britain, Mr. Takaki Kato, while 
passing through New York some weeks after the taking of Port 
Arthur, offered these explanations. 

" Port Arthur, while vastly important as a stragetic point, was 
scarcely more than a village as far as the number of its inhabitants 
was concerned. These, wliich at the outside could not have num- 
bered more than two or three thousand, consisted of a few petty 
merchants, laborers, and workmen in the docks, their families, 
and the wives and children of some of the soldiers. This was 
all that Port Arthur consisted of, as far as population was con- 
cerned in times of peace, except tlie military forces that manned 



JAPANESE REPLIES. 605 

the forts. Second, it had long been known that the Japanese 
forces were advancing on the fort. All the non-combatants, 
women and children, were removed to places of safety long before 
the battle began ; indeed the exodus was begun fully a month 
beforehand. Third, in the face of these reports of wholesale 
slaughter, how do you account for the fact that between three and 
four hundred Chinese soldiers were taken prisoners in and about 
the town of Port Arthur immediately after its occupation ? 

"The victorious army was compelled before entering the town 
to pass through a narrow defile which was strewn with the muti- 
lated bodies of their advance troops. There lay their comrades 
in arms, not only dead, but with every evidence that tliey had 
been tortured to death by the most revolting and brutal methods. 
Picture such a scene of horror, and you will have a faint concep- 
tion of the sight that greeted our victorious soldiers as they 
marched through that narrow pass. These were their comrades, 
their companions, that lay before them as ghastly evidences of 
inhuman brutality. Can you appreciate the low murmur of hor- 
ror that passed along the line ? Can you understand how each 
man then and there in his heart determined to avenge such fiend- 
ishness, and then can you blame our men for killing every Chinese 
soldier found hidden in the town when they first entered ? Yes, 
there were excesses, regrettable but surely exhonorable excesses, 
after the battle of Port Arthur. But these wild tales of the 
wholesale slaughter of innocent women are fiction pure and sim- 
ple. A few women may have been killed in the general melee 
that followed the first entrance into the town, but that was acci- 
dent, not intention, if it occurred at all. With a very few excep- 
tions all the men killed proved to be Chinese soldiers who had dis- 
carded their arms and uniforms. 

" What our troops saw of Chinese barbarity did not begin with 
Port Arthur nor did it end there. The most atrocious cruelties 
were the rule at Ping-Yang, Kinchow, and indeed every engage- 
ment. Before accepting this reported wantonness of our troops 
at Port Arthur we must take into consideration what the Japan- 
ese troops did before and what they have done since. Nowhere 
has there been butchery or cruelty, but kindness, moderation and 
nobility. This in spite of all that our soldiers saw of the fate of 



606 TALES OF CHINESE BARBARITY. 

their unhappy companions ; this in the face of new barbarities 
that were revealed almost daily. Is this not a credit to our sol- 
diers worthy of national pride and international appreciations ? " 

The variety of explanations offered to excuse the atrocities was 
considerable. It was reported from Port Arthur a few days after 
the charges had been made, that the capture of the place was in- 
deed marked by regrettable excesses, but the offenders were not 
regular soldiers. It was said that the night after the capture of 
the stronghold, a number of coolies attached to the army as laborers 
came into the town from the camps. These men carried swords, 
in order to obviate the necessity of always having regular troops 
told off for their protection. Unfortunately they obtained access 
to some Chinese stores of liquor, and became intoxicated. 
While in this condition they were reminded of the atrocious 
cruelties committed by the Chinese upon defenseless Japanese 
prisoners, and became frenzied. All the coolies practically ran 
amock, and no Chinamen whom they met was spared. It was 
declared that some of the coolies were at once arrested, and 
that Marshal Oyama was already investigating the affair, when 
he received instructions from imperial headquarters at Hiroshima 
to institute a rigorous inquiry. 

The barbarities practised by the Chinese against the Japanese, 
which resulted in the atrocious retaliation, were fully corroborated 
from many sources. A correspondent of the American Bible 
Society wrote thus from Shanghai : 

" The reported inhuman atrocities of the Chinese are fully con- 
firmed. They were guilty of barbarities too revolting to men- 
tion. A scouting party of Japanese, including an interpreter, were 
captured by the Cliinese near Port Arthur just before the attack 
on the fortress. They were fastened to stakes by nails through 
their shoulders, burned alive, and then quartered and their ghastly 
remains stuck up on poles by the roadside. Some Japanese mem- 
bers of the Red Cross society were captured by the Chinese sol- 
diers and flayed alive. During the attack on Port Arthur the de- 
fenders used explosive bullets. Is it any wonder that the Jap- 
anese generals issued the order that no quarter should be shown ? 
The track of the retreating army has been marked by pillage, 



ANSAVERS OF THE JAPANESE. 607 

rapine, wanton destruction and outrage, so that the people wel- 
come the Japanese." 

Japanese diplomats in Washington did not take kindly to the 
civilized censure of Japanese atrocities. They had read up on 
Andersonville, Libby Prison, Fort Pillow, Wounded Knee, the 
British cruelties in India and Africa, the Russian record, and 
they were ready to compare notes with civilized armies on the 
subject of cruelty in war. They also brought forward native 
Japanese papers which described the taking of Port Arthur, and 
declared that those who were killed after the assault suffered only 
because of the frenzy of a few Japanese, shocked by what they 
had seen of the cruelties to their own comrades. It wasdecU»red 
that the Japanese officers and the body of the troops did all in 
their power to stop the bloodshed. Furthermore, the Japanese 
government asked for a suspension of judgment until the merits 
of the case could be investigated. 

The savage massacres which marked the capture of Port Ar- 
thur were not the first, nor will they be the last which will dis- 
grace the conduct of troops calling themselves civilized. English 
troops were guilty of similar massacre in the Peninsular cam- 
paign, at least one time in the Crimea, and repeatedly in suppress- 
ing rebellion in India. Our own troops in the west have been 
stung to ruthless massacre by the discovery of their tortured dead 
in Indian villages. Fort Pillow gave ghastly proof of the readi- 
ness to butclier in our war. French troops in Algeria, New Zea- 
land colonists in suppressing a Maori rising, and Boers in South 
Africa have slaughtered without mercy. These occasions neither 
palliate nor excuse barbarity. It is wrong in all races, and in all 
races from time to time it will come to the surface. The amazing 
fact about Japan is that it is the first Asiatic nation in all history 
which has fought any battles and conducted any military opera- 
tions without massacre. The slaughter or slavery of surrendered 
troops has been the unbroken rule of Asiatic warfare for centur- 
ies. Japan has actually been able to reverse the practice and 
habit of generations, to school its soldiers to mercy, and even 
in the present instance it has been followed, as Wellington's 
massacres in the Peninsula never were, by investigation and an 
attempt at repressing like disorder in the future. 



608 PARALLELS OF CRUELTY. 

As an indication of the trend of thought of Chinese news- 
papers, and of ignorance of the Chinese people concerning the 
truth of the war, it is amusing to note the report of one of the 
vernacular papers on the fall of Port Arthur. This paper editor- 
ially says : — " In allowing the Japanese to take Port Arthur, Gen- 
eral Tso was actuated by motives of the deepest strategy, and tlie 
able manner in which he attained his end, without allowing his 
opponents to penetrate his designs, stamps him as one of the 
greatest military commanders China has ever seen. Knowing 
Peking to be the ultimate goal of the Japanese, General Tso was 
satisfied that should a too obstinate resistance be offered at any 
point, the Japanese would leave the Chinese unconquered in his 
rear, and would push on to the capital ; whereas, if an important 
place like Port Arthur should fall into their hands, the little men 
would enjoy the sensation as they would a new toy, and it would 
delay them in their march while the road to Peking was rendered 
impregnable. General Tso, therefore, inflicted all the loss possi- 
ble upon the Japanese, without allowing them to be absolutely 
discouraged, and then when defeat was staring his opponents in 
the face, gave the signal to his troops to retreat, which the}' did in 
good order. So great was the loss of the Japanese, that it was 
not until some hours after the last Chinese soldier had departed, 
that they ventured to enter the forts. 

" General Tso displayed marked military skill in his defensive 
tactics, and by ordering half-charges of powder to be used in the 
big guns, and filling the shell and torpedoes with sand, deluded 
the innocent commander of the Japanese fleet into the belief 
that the defenses and sea forts of Port Arthur were innocuous. 
As a result the Japanese fleet boldly ventured close to the forts 
and within the line of the torpedo defenses, and before they dis- 
covered their mistake three men-of-war, seven transports, and 
twenty-one torpedo boats were sunk by the Chinese fire and sub- 
marine mines. The result of General Tso's actions prove, as we 
have always maintained, that it is inadvisable for China to employ 
other than native commanders in the present war. In hand-to- 
hand combats the savage and flesh-eating Fanquoi is physically 
superior to our men, but no man other than one conversant witli 
the niilitary wisdom of our enlightened race could have planned 



CHINESE SERENITY. 609 

and brought to a successful conclusion the train of events which 
ended in the offering of Port Arthur as a bait to our diminutive 
opponents." 

From a military point of view, the capture of Port Arthur by 
the Japanese was an event of the first importance, while its moral 
effect and its consequent influence upon the diplomatic situation 
was very great. It transferred from one side to the other all the 
advantages of a fully equipped arsenal and dockyard, occupying 
a commanding strategical position, and therefore modified all the 
conditions, naval as well as military, of the campaign. It made 
the defense more hopeless than ever, and extended the chain of 
Chinese disaster. 




CHANG YEN HOON. 

. Envoy sent by China to Japan to negotiate terms of peace before the despatch of 
Li Hune Chane.— See naces 627 anH ficc ^ 



ig Chang.— See pages 623 and 655. 



610 



V 



FROM PORT ARTHUR TO WEI-HAI-WEI. 



China Makes Another Attempt towards Peace— The Envoy Rejected Because of lack of 
Credentials and Rank— President Cleveland Offers to Help Create Peace— Chinese and 
Manchoos at War— Japanese Victories Immediately after the Taking of Port Arthur- 
More Corean Politics— The Third Japanese Army— Preparing for a Descent on the Chinese 
Mainland— Wei hai-wei and Its Capture. 

Even before Port Arthur had fallen, China was making an- 
other attempt to secure peace through the intervention of foreign 
nations. As this seemed slow in coming, however, it was decided 
that an informal effort to stop hostilities would be made, one in- 
deed of such a sort that it might be disavowed if criticism seemed 
to demand. Consequently, Mr. Gustav Detring, the Chinese 
Commissioner of Customs under Sir Robert Hart, was sent to 
Japan to feel the way in preliminary negotiations. In its per- 
plexity and distress, the Chinese government took the step which 
only extremity could have driven it to take. It swallowed the 
pill which was of all things most bitter. The emperor, on the 
advice of his council and at the instigation of Prince Kung and 
Li Hung Chang, appointed a foreigner as envoy to Japan. The 
office was not one which timid Chinamen would envy, because 
none of them were ambitious to hand down their names to pos- 
terity in connection with the humiliation of their country. The 
wisest man in office was Prince Kung, but he was not the dicta- 
tor which he was supposed to be. He was thwarted by other in- 
fluences, among them the Grand Council, of which he was not 
but ought to have been a member. 

In this confusion, the grand imperial effort towards centraliza- 
tion of authority had partially at least failed, and the failure had 
the effect of rehabilitating for the moment the Viceroy Li Hung 
Chang, who once more stood out as the only possible practical 
man. This aged statesman had many faults, which those who 
were nearest to him saw most clearly, but if we compare even his 
faults with the wisdom of his compeers, he was still the one-eyed 
man among the blind, the only man at the time in the empire 
30 (611) 



6^2 MR. DETRING AS AN ENVOY. 

who was capable of anything, and whose removal from the scene 
would have been regarded with grave apprehension by all who 
were interested in the maintenance of order against chaos. 

Mr. Detring, with his suite, left Tientsin November 22 by rail 
to Tung-ku, embarked tliere on a steamer, under the German 
flag, called the Li-yu, and steamed down the Gulf of Pechili past 
Chefoo and Wei-hai-wei. Not until the vessel reached Japan did 
they know of the fall of Port Arthur. The vessel proceeded to 
Kobe, where no one was permitted to land at first. The envoy at 
once sought communication with Count Ito, and applied to the 
local authorities to inform His Excellency thereof. The result 
was not an invitation to Mr. Detring to visit Hiroshima, but the 
dispatch of the Secretary-General of the cabinet, Mr. Ito Moiji, to 
confer with him at Kobe. From this point there is a difference 
of statement as to what occurred. The Chinese declare that be- 
fore the arrival of the secretary, Mr. Detring had been recalled 
by his government, and having taken leave of the governor he 
left at daylight on the 29th without waiting to see Mr. Ito, who 
had arrived the previous night. The Japanese, on the contrary, 
assert that they refused to entertain any proposals from Mr. 
Detring, as he was not properly accredited and had no authority 
whatever to make peace negotiations. However that may be, it 
is^ certain that he returned to China without having an audience 
with any Japanese officials, and that the peace negotiations were 
never even begun. 

The next surprise was that whereas the United States had de- 
clined to entertain England's proposal for a coalition of powers 
to restore peace to the orient. President Cleveland subsequently 
tendered to Japan his good offices as mediator. He hoped that 
by his aid peace might be restored, and restored in such a manner 
as to secure to Japan the just fruits of her victories. A reply 
declining his proposal, couched in duly grateful terms, was con- 
veyed to the president by Japan, and he having learned in the 
interval that the European powers would not agree to intervene 
conjointly, ceased his own activity. It was still hoped however 
that Minister Denby at Peking and Minister Dun at Tokio would 
be able to use their good offices in advancing peace. Japan was 
holding out the insistence that China must speak for herself if 



PRESIDENT CLEVELAND INTERVENES. 613 

she wanted peace. Japan however did go so far as to say that if 
China had any propositions of peace to make, they might be 
transmitted in the beginning through the United States ministers 
in Japan and China. It was still evident however, that China 
would hold off as long as possible, in the hope that something 
would turn up to relieve her of the necessity of suing for peace. 

The Manchoo princes feared and mistrusted the Chinese, who 
seemed to be indifferent to the issue of the war, and intent only 
on obtaining individual advantage. It was reiterated again and 
again, that the Chinese secret societies desired Japanese success 
in order that the Manchoo dynasty be overthrown and the 
Chinese restored to power. Captain Von Hannecken, at the re- 
quest of the Tsung-li Yamen, submitted a comprehensive scheme 
of military reorganization. This was approved by the emperor 
and the Manchoo statesmen, but was frustrated by the strategem 
of certain wealthy taotais, on the alleged ground of economy. 
The question was then referred from Peking to Tien-tsin. Thus 
the central and provincial governments reduced each other to 
impotence. Genuine reform in China appeared to be hopeless, 
owing to the invincible ignorance of the rulers. There was much 
popular discontent at the imbecility of the government. 

Let us now return to the other forces of Chinese and Japanese, 
whose movements, comparatively unimportant, have been neg- 
lected for the advance on Port Arthur. A considerable portion 
of the Chinese fleet was still in the harbor at Wei-hai-wei, some- 
times cruising out for a little while, but usually safe at anchor. 
Several of the Chinese vessels had slipped out of Port Arthur 
harbor when Japanese backs were turned, and steamed across to 
supposed safety at Wei-hai-wei. On November 22 the Chen- 
Yuen, the largest and most formidable battle ship remaining to 
the Chinese, ran ashore while entering Wei-hai-wei harbor, and 
trying to avoid the torpedoes placed in the channel. She was 
somewhat damaged by a torpedo, and was finally beached and 
rendered useless for the time. Commodore Liu Taitsan, who was 
in command of the vessel, anticipated official condemnation by 
committing suicide. 

The fall of Port Arthur was followed immediately by a succes- 
sion of victories for tlie Japanese arms in Manchooria, the first 



614 OPERATIONS IN MANCHOORIA. 

Japanese army continuing its success. The advance of this army 
towards ^Mukden terrorized the people of Manchooria, and the 
abandonment of the sacred city by its inhabitants began. The 
country around was in a state of desolation. The wounded mostly 
remained in viHages between Niuchwang and Mukden, the state 
of the country preventing the Chinese medical staff and foreign 
volunteers from proceeding thither. Mukden was evacuated in 
the beginning of November by the foreign residents, who re- 
mained at Niuchwang. The Roman Catholic fathers remained at 
their station in Manchooria, but the Protestant missionaries re- 
turned to safer regions. 

At Jeh-ho the Mongols rose in rebellion, in revenge for the 
assassination of six Mongolian princes. Troops had to be called 
to put down the insurrection, as had so often occurred before 
during the war. 

On the day of the taking of Port Arthur, a large body of 
Chinese troops under General Sung attacked Talien-wan and 
Kinchow, where Japanese had been left to guard baggage trains 
and provisions. The conflicts were sharp, and a number was 
killed on both sides, but the Chinese were finally forced ^to retire. 
The day after Port Arthur's fall, the greater portion of Count 
Oyama's army turned and marched northward through the Laio. 
Tung promontory, in the direction of Niuchwang. Ten thousand 
troops were left behind to guard Japanese interests at Port Arthur. 

November 25, sharp fighting took place near the Mo-thien-ling 
pass, between a portion of General Sung's army and the Japanese 
under Count Yamagata. After the Chinese troops had retired 
from Chiu-lien, they concentrated north of Mo-thien-ling, and the 
engagement was an attempt to turn the Japanese right flank at 
Tsokow. The conflict opened with a sharp fusillade, and the 
Chinese fought with considerable stubbornness for a time, losing 
heavily before they finall}^ retired. The attack was the most de- 
termined effort that the Chinese had made since Ping-Yang. The 
alarm which existed among the residents of Manchooria, causing 
their exodus to Niuchwang, was caused quite as much by Chinese 
soldiery retreating or disbanded, as by the Japanese army's ad 
vance. Many deserters had joined the bands of robbers and 
brigands to raid the country in every direction. 



CHINESE AGAIN DEFEATED. 615 

The first army, under Field Marshal Yamagata, finding the 
country in the direction of Mukden wasted and deserted, vvliile 
guerrilla troops harassed them continually, now abandoned the 
march to Mukden and joined the second army, which had turned 
north, near Niuchwang, Field Marshal Oyama had sent his 
transports and a portion of his fleet around the Liao-Tung penin- 
sula, to move towards Niuchwang, paralled with his army. Gen- 
eral Techimi's division met the enemy December 10, and after a 
pitched battle defeated them with heavy loss. It being reported 
that a large force of Chinese under General I was encamped near 
Kinkua-hu, General Techimi was ordered to advance upon that 
place. His scouts reported the Chinese to be in considerable 
force, and to consist of cavalry as well as infantry. General 
Techimi separated his division into two columns, and delivered a 
simultaneous attack early in the morning. The Chinese offered 
a stout resistance, and severe figliting ensued. The superior 
shooting and discipline of the Japanese soon told. The enemy 
were gradually driven back, and finally they broke and fled in dis- 
order, the Japanese pursuing them for several miles. The majority 
of the Chinese escaped in the direction of Tso-hun-kou. The 
Japanese lost about forty killed and wounded, and their opponents 
one hundred. 

Field Marshal Yamagata, who had been in command of the first 
army since its organization, at last broke down in health under 
the strain of his responsibility and labor, and was compelled to 
return home in the hope of restoring his health. He was suc- 
ceeded by Lieutenant-General Nodzu, his friend and adviser with 
the troops. The news of Yamagata's illness caused much distress 
in Japan, and he was welcomed with the highest honors, both from 
the government and the people. 

In China the position of the government seemed to be pre- 
carious. Dissatisfaction was rife in Peking and Tientsin over 
the conduct of the war, and every one in turn was accused of 
responsibility in the matter. The Manchoo and Chinese elements 
were bitterly opposed, and an anti-war which advocated peace at 
any price was increasing rapidly. The court of inquiry which sat 
at Peking to inquire into the circumstances connected with the 
loss of Kinchow and Talien-wan, held that Kinchow was strong 



616 IN CHINA AND COREA. 

and well-garrisoiied and ouglit never to have been siiirendered. 
The coniniandant was therefore sentenced to degradation from 
military ranks for allowing the Japanese to take the place. The 
foreign residents in Peking, Tien-tsin, and Chefoo were by this 
time getting nervous over their own prospects for safety, owing to 
the disorder and rioting that prevailed, enhanced hy the threat- 
ened invasion of the Japanese army. Marines were sent to 
Peking from tlie war ships of all western nations in Japanese 
waters, and attached to the legation for the protection of their 
countrymen in China. Anti foreign feeling in the capital was on 
the increase, and the blue jackets were welcomed most heartily 
when they landed. 

Early in December Corea suffered another political crisis, owing 
to the duplicity of the government. All the Corean ministers 
professed gratitude to Japan, for giving them the opportunity of 
undertaking the administrative and social regeneration of their 
country. They promised Count Inouye, the Japanese resident, 
faithfully to follow his advice and to carry out with the least pos- 
sible delay the program of reforms recommended by him. Count 
Inouye however discovered, that while making these professions, 
the ministers were plotting to obstruct his policy of reform, and 
had even gone so far as to send messengers to various parts of the 
country to incite the people to rise against the Japanese. He 
therefore informed the Corean government that Japan would give 
no further assistance to the king in suppressing the Tonghak 
rebellion. The minister of the interior at once resigned, and the 
king promised to make inquiry and punish those guilty of 
treachery. In a private audience. Count Inouye sharply remon- 
strated with His Majesty, explained that reforms were necessary 
to save the country from barbarism, complained of the encourage- 
ment given to the plotters and repeated his threat to recall the 
Japanese troops sent out against the Tonghaks. The khig prom- 
ised that matters would be put right. The following day the 
ministers called in a body upon Count Inouye. They admitted that 
they had behaved in a deceitful manner, begged that he would 
pardon their duplicit}^ and assured him that they would in future 
give faithful consideration to his suggestions and his schemes of 
internal reform. 



CAPTURE OP FOOCHOW. 617 

There is a little confusion in the names of towns around the 
Gulf of Liao-Tung, owing to the duplication of names. Kinchow 
is a village to the north of Talien-wan Bay. and was one of the 
first points of attack by the Japanese when they land»ed on the 
promontory. At the extreme northern point of the gulf is a city 
of tlie same name, and several reports that were made as to the 
capture of Kinchow were discredited because of this confusion. 
The first Kinchow was indeed occupied by Japanese troops from 
the time of its capture. The otlier one, however, was not threat- 
ened at all. Unless mention is made here to the contrary, refer- 
ences to troop movements around Kinchow refer to the village at 
the head of the promontory. 

The bulk of the second Japanese army moved to Kinchow, on 
its way northward after the capture of Port Arthur, and the Chi- 
nese force which attacked the Japanese garrison at Kinchow on 
November 22, fell back to Foochow, a little to the northward of 
Port Arthur, on the road to Niuchwang. About the 1st of De- 
cember General Nogi's brigade left Kinchow, with orders from 
Marshal Oyama to attack Foochow. The garrison of the city was 
reported to number five thousand, and the position was favorable 
for defense. The brigade moved forward very rapidly, as there 
was no organized opposition to its advance. On the 4th, General 
Nogi heard that the Chinese were retreating, and on the following 
day the Japanese entered Foochow without firing a shot. The 
Chinese had evacuated the city and had retreated northward to- 
wards Niuchwang. 

The first Japanese army continued clearing the country north 
of the Yalu. Large bodies of Chinese were in the triangle formed 
by lines drawn between Chiu-lien, Niuchwang, and Mukden. The 
mountains around about Feng-hwang, which constituted a strong 
strategic position, had been in the hands of the Japanese since 
October, and now General Tatsumi attacked the highest pass, 
Lien-shan kuan, from the east. On December 12 a strong Jap- 
anese scouting party from Feng-hwang sighted a large force of 
Chinese advancing from the west. The Japanese, who consisted 
entirely of cavalry, sent word back to Feng-hwang, and keeping 
the Chinese in sight fell back upon the main body. The Chinese 
pushed on as far as Yih-man-shan, where they encamped for the 



618 CHINESE FIGHT BRAVELY. 

night. The Japanese force set out to attack the Chinese position, 
and at dawn the next morning the fight began. The Chinese 
were fully four thousand strong, and while the fight was in prog- 
ress two more regiments joined them. The Japanese fell back to 
a stronger position, and adopted defensive tactics. The Chinese 
forces, emboldened by their temporary success, made repeated ef- 
forts to break through the Japanese lines, but each attack was 
repulsed. Seeing that tlie Chinese were in such force, General 
Nodzu ordered one battalion of the fifth division to reinforce the 
garrison of Feng-hwang. This reinforced garrison then started 
on Thursday night, December 13, to strengthen the Japanese ad- 
vance posts at Yih-man-shan. Colonel Tomayasu was in com- 
mand of the Japanese force, which numbered one thousand four 
hundred men with six field guns. 

At daybreak an attack was made upon the Chinese left flank. 
The enemy was well posted, and fought better than any troops 
heretofore encountered by the Japanese in Manchooria. The 
struggle was a severe one, but the Chinese left wing gave way 
before the Japanese charge, and threw the center into confusion. 
A hot and continuous fire prevented the Chinese from recovering 
their formation, and a second charge drove them into a disorderly 
retreat. The contents of the camp and thirty prisoners fell into 
the hands of the Japanese. The Chinese lost some two hundred 
and fifty killed and wounded and the Japanese about one hundred. 

It is difficult to convey a clear idea of the various operations in 
Manchooria, for no map accessible to general readers is sufficiently 
accurate to afford trustworthy indications, and the field of fight- 
ing extended over a considerable area among places too small in 
many instances to be recorded on a map. There were in fact, at 
this time, December, three Japanese and three Chinese armies 
operating in Manchooria. The Japanese forces consisted of the 
second army under Oyama, in the Liao-Tung peninsula, and the 
right and left wings of Yamagata's force, who had been suc- 
ceeded by Nodzu. The first army, Yamagata's, after passing the 
Yalu and capturing Chiu-lien, separated into two parts, the right 
wing nominally twelve thousand five hundred strong, moving 
northward along the Mukden road under the command of Nodzu, 
and the left wing of equal strength, under the command of 



DISTRIBUTION OF ARMIES. 619 

Katsura, moving westward down the Yalu, its object being ulti- 
mately to establish communication with Oyama's forces, twenty- 
two thousand strong, when the capture of Port Arthur should 
have freed the latter to advance northeastward up the peninsula. 

The Chinese armies were also three. One of these armies was 
massed at the north, defending the approaches to Mukden. It ag- 
gregated about twenty-five thousand men so far as could be ascer- 
tained, but its fragmentary fashion of fighting rendered a total 
estimate difficult. The second army was grouped in the south- 
west, guarding the coast roads to China proper, via Niuchwang. 
This army, according to the accounts, aggregated about thirty 
thousand. Its headquarters were at Kai phing, where a junction 
would naturally be effected between Oyama's forces and the left 
wing of Yamagata's army. The easiest method of obtaining a 
clear idea of the situation, is to follow in outline, the operations 
of the various armies. 

The southeastern Chinese army was composed of the Amoor 
frontier forces, under General I. It was moved down under di- 
rect orders from the throne, the strategical idea being to strike 
swiftly and secretly at Marshal Yamagata's weak point, namely, 
his long line of communications between the Yalu River and his 
outposts, fifty miles north of Feng-hwang. Thus General I's 
operations ultimately resolved themselves into an attempt to re- 
cover Feng-hwang. He marched against it from three directions, 
the main northerly road, and two easterly roads. The Japanese 
did not wait to receive his attack. On December 10, Major-Gen- 
eral Techimi, who commanded the van of the Japanese right 
wing, launched his battalion at I's van of three thousand men on 
the main road, and by consecutive onsets cut the enemy in two, 
driving a part of his force into the mountains eastward, and a 
part along the main road northward. Two days later a reconnois- 
sance sent eastward from Feng-hwang found the main body of I's 
forces on the Aiyang-pien road, and the following morning a bat- 
talion moved out to attack him. But it having been seen that he 
mustered fully six thousand, and that advancing along two roads 
his front extended over a distance of more than three miles, the 
Japanese plan was modified so as to deliver the chief assault 
against his left wing, orders being also forwarded to Techimi, then 



620 A VIGOROUS CAMPAIGN. 

operating north of Feng-hwaiig to move east and south with the 
object of taking I's right wing in the rear. December 14 saw the 
attack on the Tartar general's left wing. It was completely rolled 
back and broken, the Japanese pursuing its remnants far into the 
mountains. The Chinese lost one hundred and fifty killed and 
sixteen prisoners, and abandoned four Krupp guns, a number of 
liorses, and a quantity of war material. The Japanese had twelve 
killed and sixty-three wounded. I's right wing made no attempt 
to hold its ground after the defeat of the left. It retired in a 
northeasterly direction and its retreat was subsequently changed 
into a route by collision with a Japanese pursuing column sent out 
from Techimi's position. 

The northerly army of China consisted of that portion of Gen- 
eral Sung's troops that retreated along the main road towards Muk- 
den after the fall of Chiu-lien and Feng-hwang, together with the 
Mukden garrison. They held the pass of Mo-thien-ling against 
several attacks of the Japanese, and remained there in force after 
severe winter set in. They had several collisions with Techimi's 
outposts, but none of importance to the general conduct of the war. 

The western Chinese army consisted partly of troops originally 
engaged in the defense of Chiu-lien and Feng-hwang, partly of 
the Niuchwang garrison, and partly of a Mongolian force that 
had come down to join them from the northwest. This was the 
largest force and aggregated nearly sixty thousand. After the 
battles around the lower Yalu, these troops had been driven inland 
by the Japanese, taking Hai-tcheng as their objective point, but 
halting on the way at Siu-Yen. They were driven out of here 
by the Japanese, and moved westward to Simu-tcheng, a town 
eighteen miles southeast of Hai-tcheng. On December 11, the 
Japanese troops under Osako, moving northward from Siu-Yan, 
reached the advance posts of the enemy and made an attack. The 
Chinese force consisting of three thousand infantry and four 
hundred calvary, with eight guns, was driven back after a brief 
resistance, and the next day another body four thousand five 
hundred strong, with six guns, was dislodged from a position 
three or four miles further on. The Japanese, following up 
their advantage, took possession of the Simu-tcheng the same 
afternoon. This division and the co-operating division which had 



JAPANESE AGAIN SUCCESSFUL. 621 

taken another road, entered the place almost simultaneously after 
two days of unbroken success. They advanced together on the 
following day, and at 11:00 A. M. Hai-tcheng was in their pos- 
session. Its garrison was found to consist of only one thousand 
five hundred men, who after a show of resistance retired north- 
eastward in the direction of Liao-Yang. The occupation of Hai- 
tcheng placed the Japanese on the high road from Niuchwang to 
Mukden, some twenty miles from Niuchwang and eighty from 
Mukden. This was a position of considerable strategical import- 
ance. For the moment however, Japnese troops turned south- 
ward a few miles in the direction of Kao-Khan, a fortified town 
not far from the mouth of the Liao River. This movement was 
connected with the march of the second army up the Laio-Tung 
peninsula, to which reference must now be made. 

After the capture of Port Arthur and the completion of arrange- 
ments relating to the occupation of that place, Marshal Oyama 
returned to Kinchow and made preparations to advance north- 
ward against Foochow, an important walled town of twenty-five 
thousand inhabitants fifty -three miles to the northward. General 
Sung, with some six thousand men held Foochow, and a vigorous 
resistance was anticipated. But on December 5, the Japanese van 
entered the town unopposed. The advance was then resumed to 
Kai-phing, a city of still greater importance sixty-three miles 
distant. And as this army moved northward, the left wing of the 
first army moved southward from Hai-tcheng, as has just been 
said, threatening Kai-phing from the other side and cutting off the 
garrison's direct line of retreat. It is interesting to note that 
wherever Japanese troops took possession of a city or district, an 
officer was immediately appointed to be military governor, the 
inhabitants were kindly treated, and every effort was made to 
preserve peace and free the natives from annoyance or oppression- 

On the 17th and 18th of December the scouts of General 
Katsura's division brought word to him of important movements 
of the enemy, who appeared to be advancing in strong force. All 
this proved to be nothing more formidable than the flight of Gen- 
eral Sung's army northward. On the night of the 18th the 
Chinese army was ascertained to be passing within a few miles of 
the Japanese camp, and Katsura therefore moved against them 



622 EXCITEMENT IN PEKING. 

with his full strength. The Chinese were overtaken on the fol- 
lowing morning. Osako's brigade was the first to be engaged. 
The enemy made a stand at the village of Kungwasai and severe 
fighting ensued. While this was proceeding Oshima's brigade 
coming from Hai-tcheng entered the field and joined hands with 
Osako. The combined force consisted of four complete regimentSf 
five batteries of artillery, besides other troops. The Japanese ar- 
tillery, which was well placed, played havoc with the Chinese, 
who stubbornly stood their ground. The Japanese infantry 
charged splendidly and cut their way througli the Chinese arm}^ 
but the enemy rallied and fired steadily. A desperate hand-to- 
hand struggle took place. After five hours' fighting, the Chi- 
nese began to falter and soon they were in full and disorderly 
flight, some to the westward and others north. The Chinese lost 
probably five hundred killed and wounded and the Japanese loss, 
too, was very severe. This was probably the most obstinate en- 
gagement yet fought by the armies in Manchooria. The Chinese 
had strongly entrenched themselves at the little village of Kung- 
wasai, near Hai-tcheng, and they defended their position most 
vigorously. The ground was thick with snow, and the battle was 
a desperate one. Charge after charge made by the Japanese was 
faced aHd the assaulting troops driven back. But with a fourth 
charge the battle ended, the Japanese rushing into the Chinese 
works and carrying everj^thing before them. 

The constant succession of defeats of the Chinese forces, made 
imperial circles in Peking a nest of nervous uncertainty. Fac- 
tional fights existed among the officials, and no one knew when 
his position or his head was safe. The empress dowager re- 
mained firm in her confidence in Li Hung Chang, and this fact 
served to retain him the title of viceroy. All of his decorative 
honors had however by this time been stripped from him, and only 
the queen's favor and the fact that it was not wise to make of 
him an open enemy saved him from losing his last title. Early in 
December Prince Kung was appointed president of the Grand 
Council. He lost no time in moving towards severe punishment 
the military and naval officers who for being defeated were ad- 
judged traitors. An imperial decree imperatively ordered the 
arrest of Taotai Kung the civil commandant and the four generals 



CHINESE Politics. 623 

who commanded at Port Arthur in order that they should be sent 
to Peking to be tried and punished for the loss of the fortress. 
Admiral Ting was also arrested for failing to defend the dockyard. 
Generals Yeh and Wei of Ping- Yang fame were handed over to 
the same board of punishment. The foreign officers serving in 
the Chinese fleet sent to Prince Kung a unanimous protest against 
the infliction of punishment upon Admiral Ting, declaring that 
the charges made against him were unjust and that they would 
resign if he was punished. In response to this protest therefore an 
edict was issued continuing the admiral in command of the fleet. 

The late viceroy of Nanking, Liu-kun-yi, was now appointed to 
the chief command of all the Chinese forces in the field, thus 
superseding Li Hung Chang and Prince Kung so far as military 
command was concerned. He had made an impression at the 
palace by his energy and by his plans for resisting invaders. Im- 
mediately upon his appointment Liu petitioned to be relieved 
from the office, pleading indisposition, but his request was refused 
at the palace. His desire was taken as an indication that he felt 
himself incapable of successfully carrying out the arduous task 
imposed upon him. In the face of the emperor's imperative 
orders Liu could not avoid accepting the command, and he there- 
fore began making appointments to his staff and preparing for his 
immediate departure to the front. 

At last on December 21, it was given out to the world that 
peace negotiations with Japan were to be begun in earnest, in the 
hope that the crowning humiliation of a Japanese occupation of 
Peking might be averted. The emperor selected Chang Yen 
Hoon, vice-president of the Tsung-li Yamen as his peace envoy 
and, it was said, invested him with the fullest powers to treat. It 
was announced that he would proceed immediately to Japan with 
an adequate suite and ample credentials. He was a man of great 
ability, and great confidence was expressed in the success of his 
mission. Mr. Dun, United States minister at Tokio, learned that 
the Japanese government would receive the Chinese envoy with 
every consideration due to his rank, and with an honest desire to 
help him to bring his mission to a successful conclusion. But 
from the very beginning there was strong evidence to indicate 
that China was not acting in the best of faith, for no authoritative 



624 MR. FOSTER'S MISSION. 

statement was made by the government at Peking of the appoint- 
ment of such a plenipotentiary. This suspicion was only too well 
corroborated a few weeks later. 

The Chinese government, after deciding to send an envoy to 
Japan, addressed a formal request to President Cleveland for the 
assistance of a recognized statesman in connection with the forth- 
coming peace negotiations in Tokio. The president lost no time 
in replying. It was officially announced in Washington Decem- 
ber 27, that the Hon. John W. Foster, Secretary of State in the 
cabinet of President Harrison, after the death of secretary Blaine, 
had been appointed legal adviser to the Chinese peace plenipo- 
tentiary who was about to be sent to the government of Japan. 
Before entering President Harrison's cabinet Mr. Foster had 
represented the United States as minister at Madrid and he acted 
as agent of the United States in the court of arbitration of the 
Bering Sea question at Paris. He was one of the foremost 
among international lawyers in the United States, with large ex- 
perience in Chinese affairs. His selection by President Cleveland 
was not an official one, but was merely in response to a request 
from China for friendly assistance. Mr. Foster had no official 
standing from the United States, but acted simply as an adviser 
to the Chinese envoy. 

A curious incident comes well substantiated regarding Mr. 
Foster's preparations for his trip. Shortly before he sailed for 
China, it is said, a party of Wall street men went to see him on 
the subject of the Chinese indemnity. This indemnity was 
destined to have an important bearing upon American politics. 
Should the indemnity be paid in gold, our own treasury reserve 
would be drawn upon rather seriously. Should it be paid in 
silver the demand for the white metal would undoubtedly create 
an enormous demand for the product of western mines to the 
great advantage of the silver producing states. The Wall street 
men visited Mr. Foster in a body and urged him to favor a gold 
settlement. The diplomat became very much incensed at tliis. 
He declared that the representations of the bankers were a gross 
violation of diplomatic ethics, and that he would act as he thought 
best in the interests of China. From that time forward the pro- 
spective treaty was anticipated with great interest by American 
bankers. 



JAPANESE PARLIAMENT IN SESSION. 625 

The eighth session of the Japanese parliament was opened at 
Tokio, December 24. In the absence of the emperor at Hiroshima 
his speech was read by one of the ministers. It took occasion to 
congratulate the country for the success of the Japanese arms 
and declared the need of further persistence towards the success- 
ful conclusion of the war. Political sentiment, so far as party 
spirit was concerned, did not run high in Japan, for nearly all 
parties were united in support of the war. . The session of parlia- 
ment therefore awakened no marked interest. 

The collossal nature of the task that devolved upon Japan 
when she undertook to reform the Corean administration was 
becoming daily more apparent. The first difficulty presenting 
itself was the fact that all the high offices of state were occupied 
by proteges of the queen, members of the Ming family. The 
queen was a woman of considerable and large ambition. She 
exercised great influence over the king and employed it to secure 
preferment and appointment for her own relatives. But the 
queen and her friends were indefatigable supporters of China. 
The Chinese resident ahvaj^s worked in their interests; they firmly 
believed that Chinese supremacy would be re established sooner 
or later ; and they were wedded to Chinese systems as affording 
the widest scope for self-aggrandizement. Thus they stood in the 
very forefront of the opponents of reform. That was recognized 
from the outset, and the device was adopted of entrusting the 
chief powers to the Tai-wen Kun, an inveterate enemy of the 
Ming family. But the old prince whose political record was 
written in blood cared not one jot for reform. His one idea was 
the Tai-wen Kun. Morover. he too believed in the restoration of 
Chinese influence and wishing to enlist it in his own behalf he 
opened secret correspondence with the Chinese generals, promis- 
ing them that the appearance of their troops before Seoul should 
be the signal for a widespread insurrection of the Tonghaks to 
attack the Japanese simultaneously. These letters were discovered 
and placed in the hands of Count Inouye. He invited the Tai- 
wen Kun to the Japanese legation and quieth^ showed him the 
incriminating documents. Of course there was no imperative 
reason why any Corean subject should prefer Japan to China. 
The Tai-wen Kun had a right to choose between the two, but he 



626 THE TAKING OF NIUCHWANG. 

had no right to hold the regency under pre tex of furthering re- 
forms which he was secretly working to defeat. It was not 
difficult to induce him to resign the regency. He saw that the 
game was lost and consented to efface himself from the political 
arena. At the demand of the Japanese minister, the Corean king 
formed a new cabinet more satisfactorj^ to Japanese influence and 
the crisis was passed. The revolts of the Tonghaks, however, 
seemed to be almost continuous and every day brought news of a 
riot engendered by them. 

The Japanese armies which we left in Manchooria near Kai- 
phing, were posted on a curve extending from that city near the 
sea, to Hai-tcheng, which was strongly fortified, and posts also 
extended from there to the Mo-tliien-ling hills. They thus occu- 
pied a strong position for defensive and offensive purposes. Very 
severe weather had set in early in January and hundreds of 
Japanese soldiers were suffering from frostbite. The Chinese 
forces had withdrawn to Kao-khan near Niuchwang, although 
the force occupying Liao-Yang had advanced some distance to- 
wards Hai-tcheng, which the Japanese were occupying. 

Early on the morning of January 10, a brigade under General 
Nogi marched against a Chinese force encamped in the vicinity of 
Kai-phing. The attack was made at dawn, but the deep snow 
rendered military movements, especially the bringing up of guns, 
a matter of great difficulty. The Chinese had twelve fieldpieces 
and two gatlings which were well handled. Their force numbered 
about three thousand. The fight lasted four hours, and consisted 
mainly of an exchange of shot and shell until the Japanese were 
in position on the Chinese flank, when an infantry charge was 
ordered and the Chinese fell back before the heavy fire. The 
final attack upon the center was splendidly made and by 9:00 
o'clock the Chinese were well beaten. There was some stiff 
fighting at the last, but by 10:00 o'clock the Japanese were in 
full possession of the town. Two hundred Chinese were found 
dead in the positions which they had held, and one hundred and 
fifty were taken prisoners. The Chinese force was commanded by 
General Seh, who expected to be strongly reinforced before the Jap- 
anese attack could be made. On learning this, General Nogi sent 
out scouting parties towards Yo-chow. They reported that a 



ANOTHER MAKCriOORIAN ARMY DEFEATED. 627 

Chinese army estimated to number ten thousand men had been 
marching upon Kai-phing but having heard of the defeat of 
General Seh this large force had immediately retired towards Ying- 
tsu, the port of Niuchwang. 

Either confidence or desperation of the Chinese was exemplified 
in the vicinity of Niuchwang a few days later when two Chinese 
corps marched against the Japanese advanced lines, and opened 
an attack. One of these corps advanced from Liao-Yang, whilst 
the other marched from the direction of Niuchwang. They were 
estimated at from twelve to fourteen thousand men and they had 
with them several fieldpieces and gatling guns. They came in 
sight of the Japanese lines before noon and continued their ad- 
vance until within less than two miles. Then they halted and a 
consultation was held amongst their staff. They made no further 
advance, much to Japanese disappointment, but simply began a 
heavy fire from their artillery. At 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon. 
General Katsura ordered the Japanese to reply, and a concentrated 
fire was opened upon the Chinese ranks. The total Japanese 
force concentrated to receive the Chinese attack consisted of four 
battalions of infantry and one battalion of artillery with twelve 
guns. The artillery fire continued for an hour, when seeing that 
the Chinese were being thrown into confusion by the bursting 
shells, General Katsura ordered a charge upon the enemy's right 
wing. It proved to be entirely successful. Five guns which pro- 
tected the enemy's right were captured at once, and the whole 
force immediately retreated. Another charge upon the center 
scattered the Chinese. The majority fled to the north, whilst a 
portion retreated in the direction of Niuchwang. The Chinese 
losses were roughly estimated at nine hundred, and the Japanese 
scarcely one-tenth of that number. 

The first army, finding the country in the direction of Mukden 
wasted and deserted while guerilla troops harassed them continu- 
ally, now virtually abandoned the march to Mukden and formed 
a junction with the second army drawing together at the acute 
angle to which they had been so long converging. Oyama and 
Nodzu met and from that time worked with their forces conjointly. 
The Chinese were becoming bolder in the vicinity of Hai-tcheng 
which made the necessity greater for a union of forces. At the 
31 



628 CHINESE POLITICS. 

same time Mukden itself was in a state -^f riotous disorder, the 
Manchoo and Chinese troops continually at conflict with one an- 
other and therefore scarcely needing the attention of the Japan- 
ese to attack either side. Military operations in Manchooria 
were now exceedingly difficult owing to the depth of snow and 
the bitter cold weather. Both armies were suffering from the 
rigors of the season, and neither regretted the opportunity for a 
cessation of active hostilities. General Nogi moved forward his 
headquarters to Hantsai. Cavalry skirmishes between scouting 
parties between Niuchwang and Kai-phing, and between Niu- 
chwang and Hai-tcheng were of daily occurrence and with them 
we will consider the season's campaign of the armies in Manchoo- 
ria closed. 

The raising of Li Hung Chang's enemy, Liu-kun-5'i, to the 
chief military command in China stirred up more and more 
trouble for military and naval officers as the time went by. Half 
of the generals of the army and the admirals and commanders of 
the navy were arrested, charged with various degrees of guilt, and 
many of them were sentenced to death. As a matter of fact, 
however, not many of these sentences were carried out, although 
General Wei was beheaded in Peking, Januarj'- 16. The influence 
of Li Hung Chang could not, however, be destro3^ed, even though 
he had been relieved of all his functions except that of governor- 
general of his province. His connections with prominent officials 
in China had been too intimate and his strength too great that all 
could be taken away from him even by imperial edict. The old 
viceroy, the Bismarck of Asia quietly bided his time and waited 
the results that he felt sure would come. The Chinese envo}^ 
and his suite of fifty-six lingered at Shanghai day after day delay- 
ing their start to Japan with the avowed explanation that further 
instructions were expected, but with the understanding frankly 
held by every one except themselves that they were really de- 
tained in the hope that something would turn up, that some 
special providence would interfere to relieve them of the neces- 
sity of presenting China's suit for peace to her ancient enemy. 

And now the third Japanese army was ready for its descent 
upon the Chinese coasts and another invasion of the Celestial 
Empire was impending. 



THE EXPEDITION TO CAPTURE WEI-HAI-WEI AND 

ITS SUCCESS. 



Plans for the Third Japanese Army— Description of Wei-hai-wei and its Defenses— Ar- 
rival of the Japanese Troops— Landing of the Forces at Yung-tcheng Bay— Bombardment of 
Tengchow— Capture of Ning-Hai— Wei-hai-wei Forts Taken— Severity of the Weather— Action 
of the Fleets— The Torpedo Boats— Continuing the Bombardment— A White Flag From the 
Chinese— Surrender— Admiral Ting's Suicide— After the Surrender. 

The command of the sea definitely gained by the Japanese at the 
battle of the Yalu, now enabled another expeditionary force to be 
landed on the shores of China, this time on the Shantung penin- 
sula, which juts out between the Gulf of Pechili and the Yellow 
Sea on the south, as the Liao-Tung peninsula does between the 
Gulf of Laio-Tung and Corea Bay on the north. Since that 
eventful action, the Chinese fleet had remained in port, and the 
Japanese had been free to use the water-ways of the east, as if no 
enemy's ships existed. To undertake a new enterprise was 
merely a question of men and means. The transports employed 
at Port Arthur were available, and a third army twenty-five 
thousand strong was mobilized at Hiroshima in December. 
These troops were embarked for an expeditionary force to threaten 
Wei-haiwei. There were fifty Japanese transports in the squad- 
ron, convoyed by a few war ships, and the fleet sailed away from 
Japan just before the middle of January. 

Wei-hai-wei is about twenty-five miles west of the extreme 
northeastern point of the Shantung promontory, and fifty miles 
east of Chefoo, which was the nearest treaty port. Wei-hai-wei 
consists of an island some two miles long, and the adjacent main- 
land, running in a semi-circle around the bay. Between the 
island and the shore is a large and safe harbor, with an entrance 
at either end. At both entrances, two rows of submarine torpedo 
mines furnished protection against invading squadrons, and on 
the island stood the naval and gunnery school of China, and the 
houses of the foreign instructors. The island was defended by 
three forts, one at the east end, one at the west, and the third on 
a little island connected with it. On the hills which rise from 

(629) 



630 



DEFENSES OF WEl-HAI-WEL 



the island also six small batteries with quick firing guns. In one 
of the furts were four heav}^ Krupp guns, in another three, while 
in the third were two Armstrong disappearing guns of twenty-five 
tons, on revolving planes. On the mainland was a small village, 
while three forts commanded the eastern entrance to the harbor, 
and three the western, armed in the same waj^ as the forts on the 
island. Seven men-of-war remaining to the Chinese fleet were at 
anchor in the harbor, and would be useful in defense of the place, 
though not enough for battle at sea against a fleet. The fortifi- 
cations were built under the direction of Captain Von Hannecken, 
and several foreigners in the Chinese service had remained there 




DISTANT VIEW OF WEI-HAI-WEI AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 



throughout the war as artillerists and in other capacities. The 
Chinese Admiral Ting was also there, against whom the Chinese 
censors had been speaking so bitterly. There were strongly 
equipped forts, a beautiful harbor, a good naval school, and all 
was ready to be captured by the Japanese. 

The Japanese transports touched at Talien-wan Bay on the 
way to the Shantung promontory, and took on board some 
of the officers who had been with the army around Port 
Arthur. Except for these however, the troops moving on Wei- 
hai-wei were all new in the field. On tlie 18th of January a small 
reconnoitering party of Japanese naval officers landed from 



THE YUNG-TCIIENrx LANDING PLACE. 6BI 

a boat in Yung-tcheng T'ny, having left tlieir ship out of siglit 
around the eastern headland. They arrived in the night, cut the 
telegraph lines connecting Shantung promontorj^ lighthouse with 
Wei-hai-wei, and afterward, being of course in disguise and famil- 
iar Avith the Chinese language, made inquiries of the peasantry. 
They discovered that the commander of Wei-hai-wei, having 
heard of warships off the promontory, had sent some five hundred 
troops to defend Yung-tcheng. The Japanese then decided to 
land at dawn on the 20th. Yung-tcheng Bay is about four miles 
southwest of the northeast promontory lighthouse, and faces 
nearly due south. On the east is a bold headland connected by 
low hills with a chain of abrupt heights running west. The west 
headland, enclosing the bay, is not so high and ends in a spit of 
sand and rocks, beyond which are two smaller shallow bays, and 
Yung-tcheng town about seven miles away due west. Nestling 
close under the west slope of the strip is a small village. Yung- 
tcheng Bay is about a mile wide, and hemispherical. The anchor- 
age is good for large vessels to within one hundred yards of the 
beach, and the large fleet assembled there for hostile purposes 
was well protected. 

The Japanese flotilla was led by five war ships which were two 
or three hours ahead of the rest — twenty transports carrying one 
division of infantry, with an escort of four war ships. Other 
war ships were on patrol duty, with torpedo boats blockading 
Wei-hai-wei completely. The transports which came on the 
22nd contained another brigade of infantry, a strong force of 
artillery, some cavalry, and the large and important commissariat 
and transport sections. 

The Chinese troops first took up a position on the sand spit 
and opened fire on the ships with four fieldpieces, without effect. 
Meantime some two hundred Japanese marines were being landed 
on the beach under the eastern bluff. As the boats drew near 
the shore a few shots came in their direction, but the Chinese 
marksmanship was utterly useless. The Japanese succeeded in 
getting ashore without any mishaps whatever by 7:00 A. M., 
while daylight was still faint. The ground was covered with 
snow a few inches deep. A shell from one of the war ships set 
fire to a small cottage where the Chinese were, and they were 



632 ARRIVAL OF THE TROOPS. 

forced to retire to tlie village behind llie knoll. Here planting 
their guns, four Krupp fieldpieces, on rising ground, with infantry 
iu the broken ground about the village, they tried their best to 
make a stand ; but the guns of the war ship were making the 
position untenable, and a bayonet charge of marines put an end to 
their resistance. They fled to Yung-tcheng, leaving their cannon. 
The losses on either side were slight. By eight o'clock the trans- 
ports had arrived, and the landing of troops began, finishing before 
dusk. The disembarkation of the rear guard, which came on the 
second fleet of transports, was also carried on expeditiously on 
the 23rd. 

During the afternoon of the 20th a battalion of the newly 
landed soldiers pushed on without delay or rest to Yung-tcheng. 
The Chinese force of about five hundred made slight resistance ; 
there was a little firing, but no casualtj' on either side, and the 
place was taken. A detachment of Japanese followed westward 
in pursuit of the enemy. A quantity of arms, ammunition, and 
stores fell into the victor's hands at Yung-tcheng. 

The first thing done by the Japanese on landing was to make a 
small floating jetty of sampans and planks, from the sandy beach 
to water deep enough for launches. Rough sheds were also 
erected rapidly, so as to make the place a convenient depot as a 
subsidiary base of operations. Here the troops w^ere sheltered as 
they landed, moving over to Yung-tcheng as rapidly as possible, 
so that within a few days they were almost all quartered in the 
town and surrounding villages. The inhabitants went about 
their business as usual, evincing only a little timid curiosity 
towards the invaders. 

Japanese strategy was to be credited, to considerable extent, 
with the easy landing granted to their troops in Yung-tcheng Bay. 
"War ships had been cruising back and forth along the north shore 
of the promontory, keeping the commanders of various posts 
nervously expectant of an attack. Finally on Saturday, January 
19, war vessels drew near to Tengchow, some thirty miles north- 
west of Chefoo, and began a bombardment which lasted through- 
out the day. The Chinese worked their guns well, but were not 
equal to the Japanese gunners either in rapidity or precision of 
fire. Many of the Chinese guns were dismounted by the Japanese 



TERRORTZTNG THE SHAJs^TUNG COASTS. 633 

fire, and otlieis were rendered useless througli absence of sufii- 
cieut ammunition. By nightfall all the forts were silenced and 
the city was at the mercy of the invaders. Two thousand 
Japanese landed and kept up an incessant tire from fieldpieces 
upon the land side, wliile the ships were bombarding the water 
front. This demonstration was only for the purpose of creating a 
diversion, and attracting Chinese attention to Tengchow, while 
averting it from Yung-tcheng. 

On January 23, a Japanese force landed at Ning-Hai, midway 
between Wei-hai-wei and Chefoo, and the former city was there- 
fore surrounded. The landing was covered by the guns of a 
dozen war ships, but there was no opposition. The troops at 
once marched upon the city of Ning-Hai, situated near the point 
of landing, and the place fell into their hands after a very feeble 
resistance. The occupation of Ning-Hai isolated Wei-hai-wei 
from Chefoo. The Chinese arsenal was almost exactly half way 
between the two Japanese landing places, and the coast road 
being in occupation of the Japanese, news from the threatened 
garrison had to be carried over mountain paths with considerable 
difficulty. 

The strong Japanese fleet of war ships, transports, and torpedo 
boats was now assured of safety from any possible attack in 
Yung-tcheng Bay, and the war ships patrolled back and forth 
between the two landing places in constant threat of Wei-hai- 
wei, and forbidding the exit of the Chinese vessels which were 
penned in that harbor. The expeditionary force had landed 
all the necessary heavy guns and ammunition, beside forage, 
food, and other necessaries. The British and German flagships 
were in Yung-tcheng Bay, besides several American war vessels. 
The two land forces now moved upon Wei-hai wei, one from the 
east and one from the west. 

The forts on the mainland at Wei-hai-wei were captured by 
the Japanese on January 30. The taking of the Chinese strong- 
hold was due to skillful combined movements on the part of the 
Japanese land and naval forces, the main attack, however, being 
made by the troops on shore. The resistance, considering the 
strength of the place, was feeble. Some of the forts, however, 
were stubbornly defended, and the loss was heavy on both sides. 



684 ASSAULT ON THE MAINLAND FORTS. 

The Japanese troops of the sixth division were under arms at 
two o^clock in the morning, and the advance was at once ordered. 
As soon as it was da^-light the assault on the enemy's defensive 
lines began, and by nine o'clock the outlying batteries and in- 
trenchraents were almost all in the hands of the Japanese. 

Meanwhile the second division was delivering a direct assault 
from the southwest on the Pai-chih-yaiso line of forts, a position 
of great strength, with precipitous sides about one hundred feet 
in height. The attack was made under cover of a furious bom- 
bardment from the Japanese men-of-war. The main point of 
Chinese resistance was here. After the fighting on this side had 
been going on for some hours, the sixth division, having driven 
in the enemy before it, made a detour, and advancing behind 
Mount Ku which concealed the movement, made a strong attack 
from that side on the Pai-chih-yaiso forts. B}' half past twelve 
these forts were in possession of the Japanese. By preconcerted 
arrangement the signal was at once given to the Japanese fleet* 
which proceeded without delay to take possession of the eastern 
entrance of the harbor. 

The Japanese fleet had been keeping well off tlie shore, throw- 
ing a few shots occasionally into tlie batteries upon Leu-kung-tau 
island, but the main attack was upon the eastern forts. The 
ironclads dropped their long distance shots into the Chinese posi- 
tion with fair accuracy, but eight of the smaller Japanese vessels 
steamed along the shore within easy range and worked their guns 
steadily and well. One well placed shell caused a terrific explo- 
sion in Fort Number One, pointing to the eastward, and that fort 
took no further part in the fighting. A few minutes later Japan- 
ese troops rushed in and their flag went up. At half past twelve 
another deafening roar proclaimed that an explosion had taken 
place in Fort Number Two. Whether this was due to Japanese 
fire, or whether the Chinese deliberately blew it up, was not 
known, but the fort was destroyed. The Chinese firing flagged 
after this. At last only one gun in Fo-t Number Three could be 
worked, the Chinese fled, and the Japanese swarmed in. This 
action evidently discouraged the men in Fort Number Four for the 
garrison abandoned the place and joined their retreating country- 
men, while the fort fell into the hands of the Japanese intact. 



FORTS ARE CAPTURED. 63i3 

The Chinese fleet liad been busy throughout the fight, but kept 
well under shelter of the island. Their shell fire was mainly di- 
rected upon the masses of Japanese infantry, advancing against 
the land forts, and the batteries upon the island were similarl}^ 
employed. With the capture of Number Four fort the Japanese 
were in a position to turn the guns upon their enemies, a fact of 
which they were not slow to take advantage. They opened fire 
upon the Chinese fleet and upon the land batteries, doing more 
damage in a short time than their fleet had been able to accom- 
plish during the day. This was too much for the Chinamen, and 
abandoning their former tactics, the battleship Ting-Yuen steamed 
out from her island shelter, and coming in close to Fort Number 
Four, hammered away vigorously for a full half hour. By that 
time every gun in the fort had been silenced, and the Japanese 
were fairly shelled out of it. 

The resumption of the fight on Thursday, January 31, by the 
Japanese fleet was rendered impossible by a severe northerly gale 
accompanied by a blinding snowstorm. The decks of the ships, and 
also the guns were covered with ice. Seeing that the position 
was becoming dangerous for his ships. Admiral Ito ran to Yung- 
tclieng Bay for shelter and safe anchorage, leaving a small squad- 
ron to keep watch at the entrance to Wei-hai-wei harbor. On 
shore the Japanese made great efforts to strengthen their position, 
and for the next few days there was desultory firing, but no con- 
tinuous bombardment. 

The hardest day's fighting for the Japanese fleet was Sunday, 
February 3. The tempestuous weather which prevailed during 
Friday and Saturday kept the main squadron in shelter, and while 
the other ships were watching the two entrances to the harbor, 
their work gave greater opportunities for seamanship than for 
gunnery. They engaged the island forts occasionally and ex- 
changed shots with the Chinese war ships, but the land batteries 
did most of the firing. Sunday, however, was the navy's day al- 
though the land batteries were not idle. Almost with daybreak the 
fleet opened fire upon the forts of Leu-kung-tau island which re- 
plied vigorously. The bombardment soon became terrific. The 
flagship and several other large vessels were in possession outside 
the bay, and concentrated their fire upon the eastern island bat- 



636 THE FLEET AT AVEI-HAI-WEI. 

tories. The second division rained shell u| on Fort Zhih. The 
bombardment had scarcely begun when the Chinese fleet joined in 
very galkintly. The Ting-Yuen used her thirty-seven ton guns 
without effect, but succeeded in drawing some of the Japanese lire 
to herself. The Lai-Yuen, the smaller ship, stood towards the 
Japanese and fought well, suffering considerable damage and 
ijiany casualties. Two of the Chinese gunboats also took an ac- 
tive part in the defense and were not badly damaged. These four 
vessels fought with great determination until darkness set in when 
the firing ceased on both sides. The bombardment had caused 
great damage to the Chinese works, particularly at Zhih, where 
many men had been killed and wounded. Several guns were dis- 
mounted and towards the close of the fight the fire from the Chi- 
nese batteries slackened in a marked manner. 

The sea was still rough on Sunday night, but the Japanese ships 
did not seek shelter. It was confidently expected that some of 
the Chinese ships would endeavor to escape during the night, and 
the harbor exits were therefore blocked by the Japanese fleet. 
Admiral Ting however made no move, and wlien morning broke 
his squadron was seen in its old positon, under the shelter of the 
island. It was learned from a prisoner taken on shore that Ad- 
miral Ting had issued a general order to his captains that even if 
the defenses on the mainland should fall into the enemy's hands, 
the war ships must remain inside the harbor and help the island 
forts to destroy the Japanese fleet. Every officer was ordered to 
remain at his post until the last, under pain of dishonor and 
death. 

Monday morning the bombardment was resumed. The Jap- 
anese fleet engaged both forts and ships, and the land batteries 
bombarded the Chinese squadron. The fire from Fort Zhih con- 
tinued weak, and the Chinese battleships were so repeatedly and 
so seriously hit that their guns were handled with difficulty and 
with less spirit. Finally, towards the close of the fight, the Ting- 
Yuen was disabled. It gradually settled down, and at length 
foundered amid loud shouts of triumph from the Japanese on land 
and sea. The Chen-Yuen, too, was badly damaged. 

When the remaining vessels of the Chinese fleet were captured, 
they were in serviceable condition, but badly damaged. The tor- 



WORK OF THE TORPEDO BOATS. 637 

pedo boats of the fleet made a rush through the western entrance, 
of the harbor, to escape capture. The Japanese fljiug squadron 
immediately gave chase, and for hours maintained a most exciting 
pursuit. Some of the torpedo boats were sunk almost before 
they cleared the harbor, but others managed to get past the Jap- 
anese squadron. They were not however in a condition to make 
their best speed, and one by one they were overtaken and either 
sunk, driven ashore or captured. The Japanese fleet, on the 
other hand did not escape unscathed. The torpedo boat which 
sank the Ting-Yuen was destroyed by a hail of shot, eight of her 
crew being drowned. Another Japanese torpedo boat had her en- 
gineer and all her stokers killed by a shell bursting in the engine- 
room, and indeed it was a much damaged flotilla that returned to 
Admiral Ito. Only one boat escaped entirely uninjured. So se- 
vere was the cold that on one of the torpedo boats during the 
stealthy approach to the bay, a lieutenant and his two lookout- 
men were frozen to death at their posts. 

Monday on shore was as busy as on sea and the fighting contin- 
ued without cessation throughout the day. The guns in the east- 
ern and western forts that could be brought to bear upon the 
Chinese fleet and the forts on the island were worked all day by 
Japanese gunners and the Chinese artillery men fought their 
guns well in reply. On the land side the infantry of the sixth 
division moved against some minor lines to the west still held by 
the Chinese. The latter did not wait for the Japanese onslaught, 
but fled away westward leaving arms and stores behind them. 
By noon there was not a single fortress or battery on the main- 
land around Wei-hai-wei that the Japanese had not captured. 

Marshal Oyama meantime had ordered the fourth division to 
attack the town of Wei-hai-wei itself. The place however sur- 
rendered without a shot being fired. The Chinese garrison had 
fled in the early morning, and the citizens opened the gates to the 
Japanese forces. No injury was sustained by the town or inhabi- 
tants. As fast as was practicable, fresh guns were mounted in 
place of the disabled ones in the captured forts, and every hour 
added to the weight of metal thrown against the Chinese fleet 
and island forts. But night set in, and the Chinese fleet fought 
with as much determination as ever. Search-lights were kept 



638 AN EXCITING NIGHT. 

playing by both belligerents throughout the night. An occasional 
shot was fired by one or the otlier, but the fierce cannonade of 
Sunday was not resumed until dawn. Then the large Chinese 
war ships, sheltering themselves as much as possible under the 
island, slielled the various forts in turn. The smaller Chinese 
vessels were scattered about the bay, taking little part in the 
fighting, and escaping the attention of the Japanese gunners. 
The Chinese had burnt or sunk every junk and boat in the har- 
bor in order to prevent their being used by any large body of 
Japanese to make an effectual landing upon the island. The 
roar of the big guns during Monday was incessant. Shells were 
dropped repeatedly into the island forts, and the Chinese battle- 
ships were hit again and again, but there was no sign of the 
fleet giving in or of their ammunition giving out. At night the 
firing ceased, and again the search-lights illuminated land and 
sea. 

On the night of Monday, February 4, the Japanese after many 
hours' exertions succeeded in clearing the entrance to the harbor 
of Wei-hai-wei of all the torpedoes and submarine mines that had 
been laid. And under cover of the darkness torpedo boats stole 
in and launched their projectiles at one of the great Chinese iron- 
clads. The torpedoes took effect, and the vessel sank. 

Day after day the shore forts at Wei hai-wei, aided by the Jap- 
anese fleet, continued their bombardment of the Chinese war 
ships and the forts on the island, getting a reply which gradually 
diminished in strength. The fleet could not escape from the har- 
bor, owing to the presence of the Japanese flotilla just outside, so 
they fought on bravely, doing much damage indeed to the Japan- 
ese, but accomplishing no final results. The timber obstructions 
at the eastern entrance to the bay were destroyed by the Japan- 
ese to admit their torpedo boats to that side, as they had already 
been admitted to the other entrance. With the Chinese torpedo 
fleet escaped and destroyed, there was no adequate defense against 
this threat. Finally it seemed that there was no use in further 
resistance. 

On February 12, a Chinese gunboat flying a white flag came to 
the Japanese fleet with a message from Admiral Ting. He pro- 
posed to the Japanese commander-in-chief to surrender all his 



A CHINESE WHITE FLAG. 



639 



ships remaining afloat and all arms and ammunition, and to give 
possession of the forts still holding out, upon the sole condition 
that Admiral Ito would guarantee the lives of the Chinese sailors 
and soldiers, and of the European officers serving under the Chi- 
nese flag in the fleet and in the island forts. Admiral Ito, in 
reply to the offer, acceded to the terms and demanded that the 
naval station should be thrown open. On the morning of the 
13th however, the Chinese messenger returned and informed the 
Japanese Admiral that Admiral Ting had committed suicide on 
the previous evening, and that his responsibility was transferred 
to Admiral McClure. The news was even more startling than 
that of a single suicide, for Admiral Ting's commodore, the gen- 
eral in command of the island forts, 
and Captains Liu and Chang had 
all taken their own lives through 
grief and shame at having to sur- 
render. Admiral Ting before 
committing suicide wrote a politely 
worded letter addressed to the 
Japanese commander-in-chief ex- 
plaining his reasons for taking his 
life and enclosing letters which he 
requested might be forwarded to 
their destination. 

The only officer of high rank left 
on the Chinese war ships was Ad- 
miral McClure, the Scotchman who had been recently appointed to 
act as second in command to Admiral Ting. Admiral McClure 
sent word by the staff officer that having succeeded to the com- 
mand by the death of Admiral Ting, he was prepared to carry 
out the surrender and to consult Admiral Ito's convenience in 
the matter. He suggested that Admiral Ito should give his 
guarantee to the British Admiral or to some other neutral 
naval officer, that as soon as the Chinese war ships and island 
forts had been handed over, the soldiers and sailors and the Chi- 
nese, and foreign officers should be set free. Admiral Ito replied 
that no guarantee was necessary beyond the Japanese word and he 
peremptorily declined to furnish one. This decision was accepted 




ADMIRAL MCCLURE. 



640 



TERMS OF THE SURRENDER. 



without further demur, the Chinese flags were everywhere low- 
ered and the transfer of ships and forts was at once proceeded 
with. 

The soldiers who liad held the island first gave up their arms, 
and then were put on board Chinese and Japanese boats and 
taken on shore. Escorted by Japanese troops, they were marched 
through the Japanese lines, out into the open country and there 
set free. They were treated with every respect and seemed sur- 
prised that their lives were spared. On the morning of February 
15, the officers and sailors of the Chinese ships were disposed of 




V N<{^/5^V^\3} 



JAPANESE SOLDIERS ESCORTING CHINESE PRISONERS. 

in similar fashion. The foreign officers, about a dozen all together 
waited for a neutral ship to take them away. 

During the progress of Chinese reverses at Wei-hai-wei, the ex- 
citement in other Chinese cities was intense, increasing as the dis- 
tance from Wei-hai-wei decreased. Chefoo, the nearest treaty 
port and the home of many foreigners, was in a tremor of fear. 
A bombardment or an invasion of the city was dreaded from the 
victorious troops to the eastward, and not the least danger was 
that from the Chinese troops who had been disarmed and turned 
loose to make their way to Chefoo after the surrender. The em- 



IMPORTANCE OF WEI-HAI-WEI. 641 

peror was so incensed at the loss of Wei-hai-wei that he took the 
unusual course of authorizing the governor of the Shantung 
province to behead all fugitives without previously reporting to 
the throne. 

Wei-hai-wei will be remembered in the history of this war as 
the only spot at which the progress of the Japanese was inter- 
rupted by serious and prolonged resistance on the part of the 
enemy. Admiral Tiihg's bravery could scarcely be questioned, 
though his strategy might be. His action in surrendering prop- 
erty was gravely censured, the general opinion being that if he 
could no longer hold out he should have found means to destroy 
the valuable stores in his control, instead of giving them up to 
the conqueror. As a material result of the surrender other than 
th.e strategic and moral effect, the Japanese acquired four large 
ships left in serviceable condition, several gunboats and torpedo 
crafts, fort artillery, and great stores of ammunition, food and 
coal. 

The work of taking over the arsenal, island forts, and war ships 
was completed by the Japanese without the least confusion. The 
ships which needed repairs, including the ironclad Chen- Yuen, 
were temporarily repaired at Wei-hai-wei, and then sailed for 
Japan with Japanese crews, to go into dockyards for refitting. 
Marshal Oyama and his staff occupied the Chinese government 
building. All of the foreigners who took part in the defense of 
Wei-hai-wei, except the American Howie, were paroled and sent 
to Chefoo in the steamship Kang Chi. This vessel also carried 
the bodies of Admiral Ting and his fellow officers who committed 
suicide. The Japanese fleet paid a touching tribute to the memory 
of their brave opponents. As the Kang Chi steamed out of the 
harbor all the vessels had their flags at half mast, and from Count 
Ito's flag ship minute guns were fired for some time after the vessel 
sailed. The European war ships at Wei-hai-wei also lowered their 
flags, as a testimony to the bravery exhibited by the late admiral. 

Several junks arrived at Cliefoo bringing soldiers from Wei- 
hai-wei. The men all expressed astonishment at the considera- 
tion which the Japanese had shown for them, and the tribute 
which their enemies paid to Admiral Ting's body had created a 
great impression on them. 



642 THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION. 

It will be remembered that Howie was one of the Americans 
arrested early in the war by the Japanese officials at Kobe. He 
was on his way to China, under contract to destroy Japanese 
ships b}' means of a new explosive whose secret he possessed. He 
was released at Kobe at the intercession of the American minister 
to Japan, under the promise that he would not assist the Chinese 
in the present war. He was detained at Wei-hai-wei for a trial 
by court-martial, and it was believed that unless his government 
interfered his punishment might be a severe one. 

After the capture of Wei-hai-wei all efforts were directed by 
the Japanese towards strengthening the land defenses and those 
on the island. Fresh guns were mounted in man}'- places. The 
island forts were still manned by marines, while the mainland 
forts were each held by a battalion of infantry, as well as b}'^ 
artillery men. The amount of stores seized was so great that the 
troops had a superabundance of supplies. The roads were pa- 
trolled for miles around. A civil commissioner was appointed, 
and Marshal Oyama issued a proclamation assuring the inhabit- 
ants of kind treatment and of his protection so long as they fol- 
lowed peaceful pursuits. Inasmuch as no atrocities had been 
committed and the Japanese did little looting, the confidence of 
the people was retained and they continued their usual vocations. 
The Japanese withdrew from the advanced positions east and 
west of Wei-hai-wei, evacuating the town of Ning-Hai. A large 
part of the army then left for Talien-wan Bay. 



THE END OF HOSTII.E OPERATIONS. 



The Armies in Manchooria and tlieir Actions in tlie Cold of January— Skirmish and 
Battle— Assault on Niuchvvang and Capture of the City— Desperate Fighting in the Streets- 
Taking of Ying-Kow— A Threat Towards Formosa- Attack on the Pescadore Islands— Cap- 
ture of Hai-chow— The Island of Thao-lma— Peking thought to Be in Danger From the Jap- 
anese. 

We left the Chinese and Japanese troops in Manchooria cen- 
tered about the region around Niuchwang, trying to pass the 
cold weather with the least suffering possible. There was no 
considerable interruption of time between hostile encounters, 
possibly on the supposition that they could keep warmer by fight- 
ing than by remaining idle. On the morning of the 17th of Jan- 
uary the Chinese under General Chang and General Twi began 
aggressive movements. Some twelve thousand strong they 
attacked Hai-tcheng, but were repulsed after a short struggle. 
Five days later, on the morning of the 22nd, the Chinese again 
attacked the Japanese position, but were repulsed by two o'clock 
in the afternoon with heavy loss. This was rather a long distance 
battle, with a good deal of artillery practice in it. The Chinese 
worked their guns fairly well, but could not compete with the 
Japanese gunners, who were the better protected and suffered 
little. When the Chinese began the retreat, the Japanese guns 
were moved forward and played upon the retiring enemy. The 
Chinese then became demoralized, and made speedy retreat 
towards Niuchwang. The Japanese loss was very slight. 

On the same day as the last battle, simultaneously with the 
attack on Hai-tcheng, General Seh with ten thousand men and a 
strong force of artillery advanced from the port of Niuchwang 
against Kai-phing. An artillery engagement ensued on the 24th 
of January, which ended in a precipitate retreat of the Chinese. 

General Nogi now moved forward his headquarters to Huntsai. 
The Chinese army under General Seh was considerably reinforced, 
chiefly by Tartar troops with large bodies of cavalry, and skir- 
mishes with the Japanese scouts were of daily occurrence. The 
32 (643) 



644 CHINESE AGGRESSIONS IN MANCHOORIA. 

strength of the enemy in the immediate vicinity of Niuchwang 
was more than twenty thousand men. On the 30th of January 
it was found that the Chinese had occupied Liao-Yang in force, 
and that the western contingents were gradually advancing 
southward. General Hoi-Pang-Tao was on his way to Ying-kow 
with a large force. On the Ist of February the Viceroy Liu ar- 
rived at Niuchwang and assumed the supreme command of the 
operations in Manchooria. He brought with him an army said to 
number nearly twenty thousand, so that his whole force numbered 
probably twice that many. It seemed certain that the viceroy 
intended to advance against Hai-tcheng in full force. The Jap- 
anese armies were also united, or in close touch with one another, 
at Kai phing and Hai-tcheng, ready for a decisive battle. Feb- 
ruary 16 a Chinese army of fifteen thousand men attacked Hai- 
tcheng from Liao-Yang and the Niuchwang road. The fighting 
lasted three hours, and extended over a considerable tract of 
country. The attack was successfully repulsed, one hundred 
and fifty Chinese being killed and wounded, and the Japanese 
loss considerably less than that number. 

The news of the capture of Wei-hai-wei reached the Japanese 
and Chinese forces in Manchooria, and the Viceroy Liu was evi- 
dently disheartened, for there was an entire absence of activity 
during the next ten days. The incessant drilling in the neigh- 
borhood of Niuchwang was stopped, and the forces were steadily 
dwindling through desertion. On the last day of February, after 
a period of comparative inaction, the Japanese troops began an 
advance on Niuchwang and its port Ying-kow. On that da}^ 
General Nodzu attacked the Chinese positions between the Liao- 
Yang and the Niuchwang roads. The Japanese artillery first 
opened a heavy fire upon the Chinese. This lasted over an hour, 
and then the fifth Japanese brigade threw itself upon the Chinese 
right wing with such impetuosity that the enemy scarcely made 
a stand in that part of the field, but broke and fled in disorder. 
While this was going on, the main Japanese column under Gen- 
eral Nodzu marched against the Chinese center, which rested on 
the village of Chang-ho-tai. Position after position was carried 
by the Japanese infantry, and the enemy was finally driven in 



MOVING FORWARD ON NUICHWANG. 



645 



disorderly retreat northwestward towards Kinchow city, at the 
northern extremity of the Gulf of Liao-Tung. 

The sixth brigade had been told off to clear the Chinese out of 
the villages along the Laio-Yang road. This it accomplished 
without loss, and then by pre-arrangement it joined hands with 
the main column, the combined forces thereafter occupying 
Tung-yeng-tai and all the villages and heights near that place, in 
the direction of Liao-Yang. General Nodzu's division extended 
its line southwestward from Hai-tcheng, so that the army ex- 




CHINESE SOLDIERS ON THE MARCH. 



tended through a very wide front. The Chinese forces engaged 
numbered about eighteen thousand men with twenty guns. Gen- 
eral Yih was in command. They lost one hundred and fifty men 
killed, and about two hundred wounded. The Japanese losses 
amounted to about half as many. 

Early the next morning the Japanese resumed their advance, 
this time without opposition of any sort. The Chinese retired 
before them, and when night fell the Japanese limit extended 
nearly to Maitzu. Throughout the advance upon Niuchwang 



646 THE ATTACK ON NTUCHWANG. 

there was no opposition offered worthy the name, and the annals 
of the march bring little fame to the Japanese defense. 

The reconnoissances eastward and northward made by General 
Nodzu's scouts on Friday, March 1st, brought the information 
that the main body of the Chinese forces had fled by the north- 
ern road, with the evident intention of rallying and making 
another stand at Liao-Yang, the only place of importance between 
Hai-tcheng and Mukden. Lieutenant-General Katsura's brigade 
was ordered to pursue the enemy. By that evening the troops 
had covered about eight miles of difficult ground, and had got 
Avitliin a mile of Kan-thouan-phu, where several thousand 
Chinese were known to be ready to give battle. The Japanese 
advanced against the town at daybreak, only to find that the 
enemy had fled during the night. After resting his troops 
Katsura resumed the pursuit. It was thought that the Chinese 
would make a stand at Sha-ho-phu, a small town situated on tlie 
river Sha and commanding the high road to Liao-Yang, but the 
place was occupied by the Japanese on Sunday, March 3, with- 
out serious opposition. The next morning Katsura moved on 
until within five miles of Liao-Yang, which brought him within 
forty miles of Mukden. 

While Katsura was driving the routed Chinese before him 
along the Mukden road, General Nodzu with all the remaining 
forces at his disposal was moving towards Niuchwang Old Town. 
The troops were under arms at dawn on Monday. The fifth 
division moved against the town from the southeast, while the 
third division came from the north. The movement was admir- 
ably timed, despite the difficulties of the ground. In three hours 
the men of both divisions were in position, and at ten o'clock a 
heavy shell fire was opened upon the Chinese fortifications. The 
Chinese appeared to be confused ; their artillery fire was bad, 
and they kept massing troops at points which were never 
threatened. Many of their guns were dismounted, and after a 
two hours' bombardment the Chinese abandoned the walls and 
retreated into the town. The Japanese infantry then poured into 
the place, both divisions forcing their way into the gates and over 
the walls almost simultaneously. 

So far the Japanese had suffered very little loss. The leading 



DESPERATE FIGHTING IN THE CITY. 647 

brigade of the first division charged several Chinese regiments 
still standing their ground, and they at once fled precipitately 
towards Ying-kow, followed by the Japanese cavahy. Mean- 
time, in the town the Japanese infantry were warmly engaged. 
The main body of the Chinese, when driven from the batteries 
and walls, had taken refuge in the narrow streets and houses. 
Every window and every housetop was occupied by sharp- 
shooters. The fighting was of a desperate character. The 
Chinese 'seeing all hopes of escape cut off, fought until they were 
shot or cut down. The headway made by the Japanese was pain- 
fully slow. Each street had to be effectually cleared before an 
advance could be made to the next. Each house had to be 
assaulted and taken. 

Throughout the day the fighting continued, but slowly the 
Japanese cordon was brought more closely around the center of 
the city, and by eleven o'clock at night all opposition had ceased. 
Many of the Chinese, after nightfall broke through the Japanese 
lines, and made their escape into the open country, but a large 
number accepted quarter and remained in the hands of the 
Japanese. The Chinese fought with desperate valor. Repeatedly 
they charged the Japanese troops in the streets, and hand-to-hand 
fighting was frequent. The officers too, encouraged the men by 
their own example, and the defense o£ the streets was conducted 
with some military skill. Nearly two thousand Chinese killed 
and wounded were found in the houses and streets, and six 
hundred prisoners were taken. The Japanese losses exceeded 
five hundred in killed and wounded. A large quantity of stores 
and provisions fell into the hands of the victors, beside eighteen 
cannon, and a large quantity of rifles and ammunition. 

After the engagement of the 4th, Lieutenant-General Yamaji's 
division of the second Japanese army advanced upon Peh-mia- 
totsu, where it had been reported that the main body of General 
Sung's defeated forces had halted. The enemy, however, did not 
wait for the Japanese troops, but fell back upon Ying-kow. 
General Nogi, following close along the coast road, came up with 
the Chinese and attacked them. During the fighting which 
ensued the Chinese were reinforced from Ying-kow, but they 
were soon driven back under the protection of the town batteries, 



648 CAPTURE OF YING-KOW. 

lejiving many dead upon the field. Most of the Chinese retreated 
in a northeasterl}^ direction, but General Sung and troops im- 
mediately under his command made another stand at Ying-kow. 
The Japanese artillery was well handled, and the infantry fought 
with great spirit, driving the Chinese before them. By the time 
the town was entered General Sung and his troops had fled 
towards Chen-sho-tai. Meanwhile the Japanese artillery had 
concentrated their fire upon the shore forts, which protected the 
estuary. The Chinese brought their heavy guns to bear upon 
the assailants, and held their own for some time, but finally the 
Japanese infantry under cover of the fire of their artillery, car- 
ried the forts one after the other, and by nightfall Ying-kow was 
in undisputed possession of the invaders. 

As soon as the fort had been captured, guards were placed for 
the protection of the foreign settlement, and the streets were 
strongly patrolled. Scouts were sent out along the Niuchwang 
road to meet General Nodzu's patrol. On the morning of the 
6th, General Nodzu sent a brigade towards Ying-kow, which tlie 
second army was to attack that day. Tung-kia-thun was found 
destitute of Chinese troops, and the Japanese advanced nearly to 
Kaokhan without seeing anything of the enemy. Here the}^ 
camped for the night, and before morning the outposts of the two 
forces had met and had exchanged the good news of the success 
of each. The retreating Chinese, under Generals Sung and Ma, 
were reported to have halted at Chen-sho-tai. 

The occupation of Niuchwang and its port by the Japanese 
marked a distinct phase in the interesting campaign in Man- 
chooria. For many weeks Niuchwang and Ying-kow had shel- 
tered the Chinese army. From them a succession of feeble at- 
tacks upon the Chinese positions had been delivered. General 
Sung's unwieldy forces were now broken up ; the Japanese front was 
advanced to the river Liao ; and the first and second armies had 
joined hands. The third important fortified harbor had fallen into 
the hands of the Japanese. The defense of Niuchwang was 
maintained with vigor, the Chinese fighting most bitterly to the 
very end, but uselessly. Ths coast defenses too at Ying-kow 
made some show of resistance, but being attacked in the rear 
had quickly fallen in accordance with all established precedents. 



SITUATION m MANCHOORIA. 



649 



The general situation in Mancliooria was now entirely changed. 
The Japanese encouraged by the half-hearted attacks to which 
they had been subjected, had broken up the forces in their vicinity. 
The difficulties of movement in large bodies, combined with the 
incapacity of commanders, and general disorganization, had ef- 
fectually prevented the Chinese from gaining any advantage from 
their superior numbers. Niuchwang, a city of sixty thousand 
people, a town with an immense annual trade, had fallen into 
Japanese hands, and its capture was unquestionably an important 
stroke. On the Japanese 
right Katsura had pushed 
forward until he was near 
Liao-Yang, and after the 
occupation of Niuchwang 
relieved some of the troops 
there, another brigade 
moved northward to his 
support. The country 
centering at Niuchwang 
was practically in undis- 
puted possession of the 
Japanese. Thus, after a 
march of about four hun- 
dred miles, the troops of 
the first army which landed 
at Chemulpo were once 
again on the sea-board, and 
in possession of an impor- 
tant port. 

On the 9th of March the first division of the first Japanese 
army attacked Thien-chuang-thai, on the western side of the river 
Liao, to which place General Sung fled after the capture of Ying- 
kow. A fierce engagement ensued, lasting three hours and a 
half. The main body of the Chinese force numbered seven thou- 
sand men with thirty guns, and the Japanese forces were but 
few less than that number. General Katsura commanded the 
Japanese center, and General Oku the right wing. The left wing 
was composed of Yamaji's troops from Kai-phing. The Chinese 




^k!» 



CHINESE SOLDIER LADEN WITH PROVISIONS, 
SHOWING WINTER DRESS. 



650 THE JAPANESE IN NIUCIIAVANG. 

fled towards Kiiichow, leaving fourteen hundred dead on the field. 
For strategic reasons the village was burned, and the Japanese 
returned across the river. 

A proclamation was issued b}'" the Japanese commander at 
Ying-kow urging the inhabitants to continue their peaceful pur- 
suits, promising all law-abiding inhabitants justice and protection, 
and warning them of the consequences should they commit any 
belligerent acts or create any disorders. The commanders of the 
foreign war ships in the river called on the Japanese general, and 
asked him to telegraph to their respective admirals that all the 
foreigners in the town were safe. The general complied with this 
request, as well as with that of the consuls who asked him to tele- 
graph in the same way to their governments. All Chinese were 
strictly prohibited from entering the European quarter, unless 
employed by or having business with the foreign residents. Six 
hundred troops were told off to carry this order into effect and to 
patrol the streets. English and American officers united to ex- 
press their thanks to the commanding general, for the elaborate 
precautions taken to insure the safety of foreigners. 

It will be remembered that from the very beginning of the war 
a Japanese descent upon Formosa was one of the operations ex- 
pected and frequently reported. To provide against this threat- 
ened danger, a large body of the famous troops from the south of 
China known as the Black Flags, were sent to the island to in- 
trench themselves and arrange for its defense. They were 
scarcely settled in comfort when they began a series of outrages 
on the native population that made them feared and hated by 
every one, and justified their name. Early in February they ex- 
tended their outrages from the native population to the British 
residents. Disturbances on the island increased, and affairs be- 
came so bad that foreign residents became alarmed and left in 
haste. The British consul at the chief treaty -port of the island, 
sent to Hong Kong an urgent call for assistance, which was fur- 
nished without delay. The war ship Mercur}^ left for the island in 
haste, and its presence acted strongly to quell tlie disturbances 
and insure safety for the people. A Japanese squadron too, which 
was seen patroling the island on several occasions, acted as a 
damper upon the spirits of the rioters, and the Chinese authori- 



OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTH. 651 

ties themselves were able to qnell the disturbance. Twenty-five 
of the ring leaders were arrested and punished, and peace was 
restored. 

After this time, operations in the south were abandoned until 
early in the spring, when a fleet of Japanese transports moved 
down the west side of the island of Formosa, to the group of 
small islands knows as the Pescadores, between Formosa and the 
mainland. The Chinese feared that an attack upon Canton was 
contemplated, but in reality there was at no time any consider- 
able danger of this. The Japanese desired to be exceedingly care- 
ful of the interest of all foreign nations in the treaty ports, and so 
naturally avoided an attack on any city where they might be en- 
dangered. The real point of attack intended by this course, was the 
town of Makung, in the southwest of the island of Pong-hu, the larg- 
est of the group. Makung had a large and absolutely safe liarbor, 
capable of affording accommodations for vessels of large draft, 
and was protected by its citadel and a line of defensive works. 
Admiral Ito was in command of the squadron, which numbered 
nine cruisers and two gunboats. Bombardment was begun March 
23, from all the vessels of the fleet, the fire centering on the east 
fort, which dominated the others. A thousand troops from five 
transports landed simultaneously and attacked the same fort. The 
Chinese evacuated the place during the night, and the Japanese 
entered at 6:00 o'clock on the morning of the 24th, and turned the 
guns upon the other forts. One of the western forts blew up be- 
fore it was evacuated. One thousand Chinese prisoners were 
taken, the rest of the garrison escaping in junks. Three thou- 
sand Japanese troops now garrisoned Pong-hu, securing a south- 
ern base of operations for the Japanese fleet. Within a few days 
the Japanese were in entire possession of the Pescadore Islands. 

South of Yung-tcheng Bay, the Chinese coast line had remained 
inviolate up to this period of the war, in spite of frequent rumors 
from startled Chinese sources, of the appearance of Japanese 
squadrons and their threatened attack. The Japanese fleet had 
been profitably used to foster a continual state of nervous terror 
in all the Chinese coast cities, but attention was now turned sud- 
denly in a very different direction, and actively developed towards 
the southward. Simultaneously with the attack on Pong-hu, the 



652 CAPTURE OF HAT-CHOW. 

Japanese on the 24th of March made a descent upon Hai-chow, on 
the sea-board of the province of Chiang-su, some two hundred 
miles north of Shanghai. It was early in the morning when the 
Japanese squadron appeared off Hai-chow and at once opened fire 
upon the small forts there. Under cover of the bombardment a 
force of several thousand Japanese troops, landed and attacked 
the Chinese positions. After a few hours' fighting, the stout re- 
sistance of the Chinese proved unavailing, and they abandoned 
their works, having lost some three hundred killed. The island 
of Yuchow, wliich lies off Hai-chow had already been occupied by 
the invaders. At Hai-chow the Japanese were less than fifty 
miles in a direct line from the Grand Canal connecting Nanking 
with Peking, which at this point approaches nearest to the coast. 
The canal had been the chief route by which supplies were con- 
veyed to Peking, and had been of invaluable service for the 
movement of troops to the capital and to the front by way of 
Tientsin. The threatened dash of the Japanese upon this main 
artery of travel startled those who realized it. This sudden and 
unexpected descent upon the Chinese coast served to bring home 
the realities of war to a section of the population which probably 
had never heard of the Japanese successes. The Viceroy of 
Nanking awakened to his danger, and hastily ordered troops to 
the front to oppose the Japanese advance and recapture Hai-chow. 

A third portion of the Japanese fleet, with war ships and trans- 
ports, appeared simultaneously with these other operations, sailing 
past Taku into the neighborhood of Shan-hai-kwan. Passing the 
latter city, which marks the end of the Great Wall of China 
where it comes down to the coast, the fleet left terror behind, 
and moved upon the island of Thao-hua. This island lies but a 
few miles off the mainland, and fifty-five miles northeast of Shan- 
hai-kwan, at a point where the main highway from Manchooria to 
Peking lies close to the coast line. It was therefore about half 
way between Niuchwang and Taku, the port of Peking, and an 
excellent base for offensive operations against the capital. 

The armies in Manchooria were practically idle during the 
latter part of March. The Chinese had nearly all withdrawn to 
Kinchow, in the north, while the Japanese contented themselves 
with restoring order in Niuchwang and Ying kow, and in com- 



SEIZURE OF TIIAO-HUA ISLAND. 



658 



pleting the military arrangements consequent on the junction of 
the armies. Snowstorms prevented an intended advanced to- 
wards Kinchow. 

The first of April therefore found the Japanese ready to act on 
the offensive at several points, spread over a distance of one 
thousand two hundred miles, and extending from the Pescadore 
Islands in the south to Niuchwang in the north. On the Liao 
River the combined forces numbered nearly forty thousand men, 
with a further strength of some ten thousand men on the Laio- 




GAP IN THE GREAT WALL AT SHAN-HAI-KWAN. 

Tung peninsula at Kinchow, Talien-wan and Port Arthur. The 
whole of these troops could be transported to Shan-hai-kwan in 
twenty-four hours, as soon as the port of Ying-kow was free from 
ice. There were no troops to be spared from the garrisons at 
Port Arthur or Wei-hai-wei, but further levies would undoubtedly 
be brought from Hiroshima to these places to await transport. 
The distance to Shan-hai-kwan from all these ports were short so 
that the troops could be closely packed for the short voyage. In 
a few days therefore, at least seventy-five thousand men could be 



654 JAPANESE POSSIBILITIES. 

concentrated at Shau-hiii-kwan and the transports would be 
available for maintaining a sup[)ly service. At the same time the 
possession of the island of Chao-hua would facilitate the cutting 
of the line of Chinese communications between Manchooria and 
Peking. With Hai-chow held by the Japanese and threatening 
the line of communication from south to north by the Grand 
Canal and Japanese forces threatening Formosa and the south, 
the possibility of the repulse of an advance in force on Peking 
seemed very slight. It was the approach of these dangers and 
the final certainty that nothing else could be done to avert them 
that brought the Chinese at last to humiliate themselves and sue 
for peace at the hands of the Japanese. 



THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE. 



John W. Foster in Japan— Failure of a Peace Embassy— Diplomatic Discussions— Foolish 
Pride— Li Hung Chang Again in Favor— His Journey— The Viceroy Knew China— The Envoy 
in Japan— Attempted Murder— The Mikado's Appeal— What the Assault Indicated— Declara- 
tion of the Armistice— Provisions of the Armistice— Continuing Negotiations— Signing the 
Treaty— Its Terms— No Alliance of China and Japan— The Mikado Proclaims— Feacefulness 
En joined— What of the Future ?— Ultimate Effect of the War. 

While the war operations during the first three months of 1895 
were in progress, peace negotiations too were actively under way. 
The annals of the hostilities which have occupied the last few 
chapters might have been interrupted by paragraphs telling of 
the progress and defeat of different efforts to secure peace ; but it 
seemed more intelligible to the prospective reader to place him in 
full possession of the particulars of the military affairs as they 
developed, without interruption. Not until the end had nearly 
come did the peace negotiations for one moment interrupt hostili- 
ties, and there was consequently no need to interrupt the consecu- 
tive record. It now remains a final task to outline the various 
peace negotiations after those that have already been described, 
and follow oriental diplomacy to its conclusion. 

We left the Chinese peace envoys lingering at Shanghai in 
January, after several weeks of idleness resulting from continual 
postponement of their departure. At last the imperial govern- 
ment abandoned its hope that something would intervene to de- 
stroy the necessity of a suit for peace, and the embassy was 
ordered to start. The Chinese peace envoj^s arrived at Kobe 
January 30, and were received by the Secretary of the Foreign 
Department. When the envoys came ashore, a mob greeted them 
with hostile demonstrations and they had to be protected by a 
large force of police. After consulting with Mr. Foster, their 
American adviser who had reached Kobe several days before, the 
envoys left in a special steamer for Ujina. The general tenor of 
Japanese opinion was that the negotiation would prove fruitless, 
as China was scarcely ready to accede to the Japanese demand. 

(655) 



656 JOHN W. FOSTER IN JAPAN. 

It was acknowledged however, that the present embassy showed 
a much more sincere desire for peace on the part of China than 
did the Detring mission which resulted in such a fiasco. 

Ex-Secretary Foster was treated with especial courtesy during 
his stay at Tokio and Kobe. Mr. Foster exchanged many tele- 
grams with the Chinese government in reference to the power and 
autliority of Chang and Shao, the Chinese peace commissioners, 
regarding which the Japanese were all along very doubtful. The 
diplomatic contest promised to be stubborn. China did not seem 
to realize that Japan would demand a cession of territory, and it 
was anticipated that the humiliation of losing any of her con- 
tinental domain would be more than she was willing to endure. 
Mr. Foster was frankly given to understand that unless ample 
powers were guaranteed by their credentials the envoys would 
not even be admitted to a hearing. 

Count Ito and Viscount Mutsu who were appointed to treat 
with the Chinese peace envoys, received the credentials which 
were presented them as coming from the emperor of China, and 
found them to read as follows : " By decree we appoint you our 
plenipotentiaries, to meet and negotiate the matter with the 
plenipotentiaries appointed by Japan. You will, however, tele- 
graph to the Tsung-li Yamen for the purpose of obtaining our 
commands, by which you will abide. The members of your 
mission are placed under your control. You will conduct the 
mission in a faithful and diligent manner, and fulfill the trust 
reposed in you. Respect this." 

It was immediately officially announced that the plenary powers 
with which the mikado's government demanded that the Chinese 
envoys should be invested, were found to be utterly defective. 
The envoys were therefore refused further negotiations, and were 
requested to leave Japan without delay. It was believed by 
many that the Chinese envoj^s were quite ignorant of the trick 
that had been played upon them by their government. They 
supposed that they had been given full powers to treat for peace, 
but they found that not only had they no power either to con- 
clude or sign a treaty, but that their credentials did not even con- 
tain an intimation of the purpose of the mission which they had 
to Japan. The ministers, however, told them that Japan was 



FAILURE OF A PEACE EMBASSY. 657 

Xvilling to reopen negotiations with a properly empowered em- 
bassy. The envoys therefore left Hiroshima after two days in 
the Japanese city, and returned home via Nagasaki. 

The rebuff sustained by the Chinese envoys created some as- 
tonishment among the highest officials in Peking, but not much 
apparent concern. Just at this time, early in February, they were 
having glowing reports from General Sung in Manchooria. He 
claimed to have already beaten the Japanese on many occasions, 
and promised if well supplied with men and stores to drive every 
invader from Chinese soil. Japan's excuse for refusing to treat 
with the envoys, scarcely satisfied some export diplomats. It was 
insisted that it would have been very unusual for any government 
to endow its agents with final powers as long as it was able to 
communicate with them daily and hourly if necessary by cable. 
The Chinese government once gave final powers to one of its am- 
bassadors who went over to Russia to negotiate a boundary treaty, 
and his head would have been amputated when he returned to 
Peking, had it not been for the intercession of the Russian am- 
bassador, who suggested that his government would resent such 
punishment inflicted upon a person so recently honored by the 
Czar. He offered at the same time to consider the treaty sus- 
pended, until the Chinese authorities might have an opportunity 
to examine it and suggest any changes they might like to have 
made. After this experience it was not likely that the emperor 
of China would confer final powers upon any ambassador. It was 
asserted that since modern forms of communication had been in- 
troduced, it has not been the custom to give final powers to agents 
who visit civilized nations. Therefore it was assumed that the 
objection raised in Japan to the credentials of the Chinese envoys 
was a diplomatic ruse for the purpose of gaining time for the 
Japanese generals to reach Peking. This was disproven by the 
cessation of efforts, which Japan might have made to reach Pe- 
king, but it may have been true that Japan wished to bring China 
into still further distress, so that her demands would be more 
surely granted. 

The very important action was now taken by the Chinese em- 
peror of restoring to Li Hung Chang all his honors which had 
been taken away, because of the succession of defeats in the early 



658 DIPLOMATIC DISCUSSIONS. 

weeks of the war, and appointing him imperial commissioner to 
negotiate for peace with Japan. China then requested that the 
Japanese peace commissioners might meet Li Hung Chang at 
Port Arthur to conduct the negotiations at that place. A prompt 
reply was received from Hiroshima, in which the Japanese gov- 
ernment absolutely declined to treat anywhere but upon Japanese 
soil. The Grand Council of the Chinese empire met on Sunday, 
February 24, and deliberated for several hours upon the question, 
" Shall the war with Japan be prolonged or shall we treat for 
peace?" It was resolved that before the council took a final de- 
cision, the same question should be put to all the provincial au- 
thorities, from the first to the third rank inclusive. Their opinion 
was urgently demanded by telegraph. The replies received were 
nearly all to the effect, that although the war was unjustly pro- 
voked by Japan, it was very desirable that peace should be con- 
cluded. Some of the replies, however, declared that the terms 
of peace should not be too exacting. China had learned some- 
thing by her failures of two peace missions, Detring's and the last 
embassy. 

One of the ancient Chinese methods of waging battle was to 
play " Soft, voluptuous airs to melt the heart of the enemy." 
How far China had advanced in practical wisdom might be gath- 
ered from her latest diplomatic manceuver which seemed to indi- 
cate that the Chinese diplomacy of the present followed the mili- 
tary usages of antiquity. Ever since the eventual triumph of the 
Japanese became a moral certainty, China had been given vague 
intimations of a desire to secure peace. These intimations unac- 
companied by any definite terms were steadfastly ignored by 
Japan, until the Chinese government gave notice that it had sent 
a peace commission to the mikado. When the useless credentials 
of these commissioners were examined in Japan, they were turned 
back without consideration, and the Chinese pretended surprise 
at the treatment, asserting that Japan was simply seeking to 
further humiliate the empire. To unbiased observers it seemed 
quite as reasonable to believe that the Chinese were playing to 
gain time, meanwhile assailing the enemy with the " soft, volup- 
tuous music of peace." This policy of antiquated diplomacy was 
terminated abruptly. 



LI HUNG CHANG AGAIN IN FAVOR. 6o9 

Li Hung Chang's star was again in the ascendant. Even as he 
journeyed towards Peking his calumniators continued their attacks. 
In Shanghai it was positively asserted that he was now given a 
chance to accomplish what he had long awaited, the .overthrow of 
the Manchoorian dynasty in China. It was also declared that 
Kung, tlie disgraced Ex-Taotai of Port Arthur, had made a con- 
fession showing the traitorous designs of Li. It was said that 
Li had been leagued with the officials of the palace at Peking for 
the overthrow of the dynasty, ever since he was deprived of his 
yellow jacket, his peacock feather, and his various offices. All 
this now had no weight. The privy council heartily supported 
Li's mission to Japan. Prince Kung silenced all opposition to it 
by presenting papers showing that the previous failure was due 
to a backward policy, for which the council were themselves to 
blame, and exonerating the viceroy. The emperor completely' 
vindicated Li Hung Chang, confessing that he had tried others 
and found him alone trustworthy. He therefore granted him the 
fullest powers to deal with the Japanese. The central govern- 
ment publicly assumed the entire responsibility for the condition 
of the national defense, explaining it as the result of blindness 
to the progress of other nations. This placed future reforms in 
the hands of Li. 

The American minister at Peking assumed a personal interest 
in the matter at this point, and telegraphed to Japan the text of 
Li Hung Chang's proposed credentials. At last, after a tedious 
exchange of messages, the credentials were accepted by Japan 
and arrangements were made for the journey of the envoy. Li 
Hung Chang was received in audience by the emperor and tlie 
dowager empress five times within as many days, and in his con- 
versations with them spoke frankly of the condition of the em- 
pire. His powers to negotiate were made complete, his commis- 
sion bore the emperor's signature, and on the fifth day of IMarch 
he left Peking for Japan. 

There were signs at last that the Chinese were beginning to 
recognize the imperative necessity of concluding peace with 
Japan. With their strongholds in Japanese hands and their fleet 
practically annihilated, the sooner they made submission the more 
easy would be the terms which they could obtain. It was there- 
33 



660 JOURNEY OF LI HUNG CHANG. 

fore gratifying to all friends of the empire to learn that the vie 
eroy had been appointed as envoy to proceed to Japan to discuss 
tei-ms of peace. Holding a position second only to that of the 
emperor himself, it was impossible that the tTapanese should refuse 
to treat with him on account of his inferior station, or his insuffi- 
cient credentials. His mission was the first genuine attempt that 
China had made to open negotiations. It was a proof that Chi- 
nese pride and obstinacy had at length been overcome, and that 
there was a real willingness to take steps calculated to bring the 
disastrous war to a close. 

But for the messenger himself ! Surely history, which delights 
in setting at naught the hopes and filling the fears of men, never 
saw a sadder faring forth than the journey of Li Hung Chang to 
Japan. He was old now, paralytic, his side and arm half useless, 
his eyesight dim, his family long since gone, and all the fabric of 
empire to which his life had been given in ruins about him. He 
saved it once before in straits as great. He of Honan, Honan 
men about him, all come down from the central hills of China, 
sturdy and tall above tlie men of the plains whom they swept aside, 
Gordon and Ward aiding, leading and winning the early battles, 
but the work in the end done, and the rich harvest reaped by those 
sons of Honan whom Li Hung Chang found poor among their 
fields of tea and millet, and raised to half the posts of honor in 
China. Tliat was thirty years ago. The great work spread and 
grew. The old boundaries of the empire were regained. The 
Russian advance in Asia retired for the first time in two centur- 
ies. On the Amoor it was halted. France retired discomfited. 
England treated Chinese frontiers with a new respect. In Bur- 
mah, in Siam, in Nepaul, Chinese aid was sought. The big em- 
pire was never so big, never looked so strong, never had more 
deference or outer respect since the days of the great Tai-Tsung, 
when China ruled from the Pacific to the boundary of the Roman 
empire, and the Roman empire extended to the Atlantic — two 
realms between the two oceans. 

Through it all one man knew how hollow it was, Li Hung 
Chang. He pleaded for railroads and telegraphs. He bought 
war ships and ironclads. He urged that the old policy be re- 
versed and the military and naval forces of the empire duly or- 



THE VICEROY KNEW CHINA. 661 

ganized. For years he had seen the cloud gathering, and in the 
great quagmire of Chinese corruption and conservatism sought to 
make ready for it. It had been in vain. Army, fleet, and court 
had collapsed. Corea and Manchooria were conquered. If 
Peking was not occupied it was because Japan wished to leave 
some semblance of central authority with which to treat. Any 
war-fine could be levied b}^ the victors ; any vassalage exacted of 
the vanquished. Port Arthur could be made a Gibraltar. The 
policy of Peking could be controlled by Japan. Japan would 
dominate the Asiatic seacoast. The Japanese ambassador at 
Peking would be supreme whenever his government chose to 
speak. 

All this was in the mind of the paralytic old man as he jour- 
neyed by land and sea. For forty years he had greatly ruled, a 
great empire was the greater for his work, and it had all come to 
this. Were the French tri-color to be near Berlin, and Bismarck 
wearily seeking peace at Paris, the tragedy were no less than that 
with Li Hung Chang as its central figure in the east. 

Li Hung Chang spent a few days at Tien-tsin, and then passed 
on down the river to Taku, whence he sailed with his suite on 
March 15 for Shimonoseki. The viceroy sailed in royal state, 
with a suite of one hundred and thirty persons in two vessels. 
On the morning of the 19th they reached their destination in 
Japan. Shimoneseki is on the extreme southwestern coast of 
Japan and it was here that in the early '60s the foreign powers 
forced Japan to assent to certain indemnities demanded of the 
empire. Upon arriving, the envoy was immediately visited by 
the representatives of the Japanese foreign office, and later Li 
Hung Chang accompanied by his American adviser, John W. 
Foster, visited the Japanese minister of foreign affairs. This 
was the first time in his life that the venerable statesman of China 
had ever set his foot on other than Chinese soil. 

The viceroy and his party were escorted to the foreign office 
by Mr. Inouye, who cordially greeted the statesman, and placed 
his services at his disposal. The party was received on landing 
by a guard of honor, and was taken to the foreign office in car- 
riages under escort. The following day was spent by the peace 
envoys in examining each other's credentials and powers. Both 



662 THE ENVOY IN JAPAN. 

sides devoted much time and thought to this matter and were 
assisted b}^ experts in matters of diplomacy and etiquette. 

The Chinese letter of credential proved to be precisely what 
miglit have been expected from Chinese character. The phrase- 
olog}^ had been repeatedl}^ discussed through the ministers of the 
United States in Tokio and Peking and a form satisfactory to 
Japan agreed upon. Whether intentionally or not the Chinese 
had given more than one indication of waywardness in preparing 
the document. They were very particular in honoring their em- 
peror with his proper title but they did not insert that of the em- 
peror of Japan. Moreover they used an expression signifying 
that it was in consequence of Japan's desire for peace that an 
ambassador was sent. This was not allowed to pass uncorrected. 
As finally amended the paper was virtually in accordance with 
Japan's dictation. 

In the end all the documents were found to be in due form, 
and polite notes to this effect were exchanged. Subsequently Li 
Hung Chang and his suite went ashore. 

The viceroy was received with a military salute, and all the 
honors due to his exalted rank. He proceeded to the chief hotel, 
where accommodation had been prepared for him and part of his 
suite. Further communications passed on the morning of March 
21, and at half past two in the afternoon the first business con- 
ference in connection with the peace negotiations began, Li Hung 
Chang, Count Ito, Viscount Mutsu, and their secretaries, together 
with the sworn interpreters being present. The deliberations 
whicli were conducted in secret, lasted for an h(mr and a half. 
There was much diplomatic fencing, Li Hung Chang being evi- 
dently anxious to ascertain at the earliest possible moment the 
terms upon which an armistice might be granted. Nothing oc- 
curred to suggest the possibility of a break down of the negotia- 
tions, and some gratifying progress was made towards a general 
understanding. 

It must be remembered that during all this time there was no 
cessation in the war operations which were going on in Man- 
chooria and on the Chinese coast. Fresh troops were being hur- 
ried forward from Japan for active service, and the war spirit 
gave no sign of subsidence. In Yokohama the success of the 



ATTEMPTED MURDER OF LI HUNG CHANG. 663 

peace negotiations was regarded as doubtful. The military ele- 
ment, which was all in favor of the continuance of the war until 
the victory of the Japanese was made complete by the capture of 
Peking, had at that time a predominant voice in Japanese pol- 
itics, and this feeling was rellected in parliament. Notice was 
given in the house of representatives of a resolution declaring 
that the time for peace negotiations had not arrived. 

While negotiations were thus progressing, they were interrupted 
by an incident that amazed and shocked the civilized world. As 
Li Hung Chang was returning to his lodgings on March 24, after 
having attended a conference with the Japanese peace plenipoten- 
tiaries, he was attacked by a young Japanese who sought to mur- 
der him. The young man's name was Koyama Rokunosuki, and 
he was but twenty-one years of age. The bullet struck the 
Chinese envoy in the cheek, and it was believed that the result 
would not be serious. The news of the attempt at assassination 
created much excitement in Japan, in China, and in the western 
world. The ministers of state and other officials visited Li Hung 
Chang without delay, to express their deep sorrow at the occur- 
rence. Every precaution was taken by the police and military to 
prevent any trouble. The mikado was deeply grieved at the 
affair, and sent his two chief court physicians. Surgeons Sato and 
Ishiguro, to attend the Chinese envoy. The bullet entered the 
cheek half an inch under the left eye, and penetrated to a depth 
of nearly an inch and a half. The Chinese plenipotentiary 
strongly objected to undergoing an operation for its removal. 
The empress of Japan, to show her own regret, sent two nurses 
to assume the care of the old man, and from every side letters 
and telegrams of regret and sympathy arrived in great quanti- 
ties. 

Beside the physicians, the mikado sent the imperial chamber- 
lain to convey his condolences to the viceroy, and to the public 
he issued the following proclamation : 

"A state of war exists between our country and China, but 
she with due regard of international forms and usages sent an 
ambassador to sue for peace. We therefore appointed plenipoten- 
tiaries, instructing them to meet and negotiate at Shimonoseki. 
It was consequently incumbent upon us, in pursuance of inter- 



664 THE MIKADO'S APPEAL. 

national etiquette, to extend to the Chinese ambassador treat- 
ment consistent witli the national honor, providing him ample 
escort and protection. Hence we issued special commands to our 
officials to exercise the utmost vigilance in all respects. It is 
therefore a source of profound grief and regret to us, that a 
ruffian should have been found base enough to inflict personal 
injury on the Chinese ambassador. Our officials will sentence 
the culprit to the utmost punishment provided by the law. We 
hereby command our officials and subjects to respect our wish, 
and to preserve our country's fair fame from impairment by 
strictly guarding against a recurrence of such deeds of violence 
and lawlessness." 

The would-be assassin belonged to the class known as the 
Soshis, or political bravos, who are always ripe for any acts of 
riot or violence. When the attack was made, Li Hung Chang 
was in a palanquin being conveyed to his hotel from conference 
with the Japanese negotiators. He had nearly reached the 
house, when a young man rushed out of the crowd, and seizing 
the hand of one of the carriers in order to stop the palanquin 
fired his pistol almost point blank at the Chinese plenipotentiary. 
There was little room for hesitation as to his motives. He was a 
fanatic who thought to serve his country by murdering the 
Chinese statesman. No delusion, it is hardly necessary to say, 
could be more gross than such a one. The criminal had done a 
grievous injury to his country and its government. Japan had 
striven long, earnestly, and successfully, to earn the reputation 
of a civilized state. Nobody of course should be unjust enough 
to upbraid her with the conduct of an irresponsible and appar- 
ently an isolated malefactor. Individuals with ferocious passions 
and ill-balanced minds are to be found in all countries, and such 
a crime as this, deplorable and unusual though it was, might 
have occurred in any European capital or our own capital city 
under similar conditions. Nevertheless, there were those who 
chose to take it as an index of national feeling condemning the 
country for the act of one. The manner of the expressions of 
regret that came so universally from every Japanese voice seemed 
to offer sufficient disclaimer against the existence of any such a 
cruel sentiment. Resolutions were presented in the Japanese 



WHAT THE ASSAULT INDICATED. 6Q5 

diet expressing deep regret at the attempt upon the life of the 
Chinese plenipotentiary, and the native newspapers were unani- 
mous and sincere in the same expressions. It had to be recog- 
nized, however, that an element existed among such people as the 
Soshis, inclined to violence under such circumstances, and pre- 
cautions were doubled. No government is adequate to control 
fanaticism of the extremer sort, and the attempt upon the life of 
Li Hung Chang was a symptom of the frenzy which had been 
engendered in a large element of the Japanese people b}^ the war. 
It was now learned for the first time that Mr. Detring was 
attacked by a Soshi in November, but was defended by the police. 
He kept silence in order to avoid embittering the situation. 

The immediate effect on the negotiations of the attempted as- 
sassination of Li Hung Chang was that tlie emperor of Japan on 
March 29, declared an unconditional armistice. This was 
avowedly done because of the attack on the Chinese plenipoten- 
tiary and was so declared in notifications which were sent to all 
countries and to all Japanese legations. The language of the 
notification thus sent out was as follows : " On the opening of 
the negotiations the Japanese plenipotentiary proposed armistice, 
which Japan was willing to accept on certain conditions. While 
this negotiation was going on, the untoward event happened on 
the person of the Chinese plenipotentiary. His majesty, the 
emperor, in view of this unhappy occurrence, commanded the 
Japanese plenipotentiaries to consent to a temporary armistice 
without conditions. This was communicated to the Chinese 
plenipotentiary." 

It was now felt that the power of the Japanese government to 
execute the armistice would be put a critical test. The military 
power of Japan, in the judgment of many intelligent observers, 
had almost outstripped the civil power during the war. This had 
caused serious concern as it was feared that the military element 
backed by the war spirit among the people would not submit to 
an armistice even if the civil authorities ordered one. To meet 
this emergency a change of army commanders was made early in 
March. There had been three army corps operating in different 
campaigns and each under a general of supreme authority over 
his particular campaign. Prince Komatsu was created com- 



666 DECLARATION OF THE ARMISTICE. 

mauder-iu-chief over all armies in anticipation of an armistice. 
The purpose of this step was to concentrate authority in one man 
in close touch with the imperial household who could thus 
execute an armistice by a simultaneous cessation of hostilities by 
the three armies. It now remained to be seen whether Prince 
Komatsu could execute the important commission given to him. 
The splendid discipline shown by the army during the war gave 
assurance that there would be immediate acquiescence by the 
military, and yet Prince Komatsu had to contend against a war 
spirit inflamed by many victories. It Iiad been said that an 
armistice would be so unpopular among the people and soldiery 
that it would insure the political retirement of Japan's two chief 
statesmen, Count Ito and Viscount Matsu, who had served as 
peace envoys. 

On the opening of the negotations, after the arrival of Li Hung 
Chang at Shimonoseki, the Japanese plenipotentiaries at first 
proposed the following conditions for the conclusion of an armis- 
tice : — The occupation of Shan-hai-kwan, Taku, and Tien-tsin b}- 
Japanese troops; Japanese control of the uncompleted railroad 
from Shan-hai-kwan to Tien-tsin and custody of the various forts 
and fortifications, together with the arms and ammunition ; the 
payment by China of the war contributions required for such 
occupation. 

Li Hung Chang sought to obtain more moderate conditions, 
but the Japanese plenipotentiaries refused, and it was then pro- 
posed to continue the negotiations without a suspension of 
hostilities. This was the stage which the negotiations had 
reached at the third conference, when the attempt was made on 
the life of Viceroy Li. In view of this circumstance the emi)eror 
of Japan waiving the conditions previously made ordered the 
Japanese plenipotentiaries to consent to an armistice until tlie 
20th of April. The armistice was to apply to the forces in 
Alanchooria and in the circuit around the Gulf of Pechili, includ- 
ing the two great promontories, but did not include any operations 
to the south of that region. Neither government was to be pre- 
vented from making any new distribution or disposition of their 
troops not intended to augment the armies in the field. The 
movement of troops and the transport of goods contraband of war 



CONTINUING NEGOTIATIONS. 667 

by sea were, however, prohibited and if attempted would be 
made at the risk of capture. The armistice was to terminate 
should the peace negotiation be broken off in the meantime, and 
a convention embodying these terms was signed. 

The news of the armistice was received excitedly by the Japan- 
ese and Chinese living in the United States, but only the former 
found it possible to concede the truth. A characteristic crowd of 
excited Chinamen gathered in front of a Chinese temple in their 
own quarter of New York City discussing a flaming red poster, 
the translation of which read : " The war between China and 
Japan has ended and it is time for every one to rejoice. Our 
fathers and brothers have fought the old enemy and those who 
have not been butchered will be honored at home. China is a 
greater country than Japan, and if the war had been allowed to 
go on the Japanese would have been whipped out of their boots 
and China would have annexed Japan as a colony. It is well for 
Japan that her people have been called off by the emperoi?, but 
the time will not be long before the war will be opened again, for 
it is written in the mystic language of the shrine that China and 
Japan cannot dwell forever on the same earth." 

During the time of Li Hung Chang's illness resulting from his 
wound, his sou, Li Chiiig Fung, acted as his representative in 
Japan and continued the negotiations. On April 7th the wound 
in Li's face had completely healed and the bandages were re- 
moved. The young man who had committed the assault was 
sentenced to imprisonment for life at hard labor, while the chief 
of police and the prefect of Shimonoseki, together will all their 
staff, were dismissed in disgrace. 

After three days of obstinate silence the assassin dropped his 
air of bravado and made a full confession to Judge Toyama, who 
conducted a private examination at the Bakan court. The prisoner 
declared that he had long brooded over the causes leading to the 
disturbance of peace in the east, and had reached the conclusion 
that the evil practices of Li Hung Chang were accountable for all 
of them, beginning with the mismanagement of affairs in Corea. 
He believed that as long as Li lived peace could not be restored 
and resolved at one time to go to China and kill the viceroy. 
This purpose was defeated by his inability to raise the necessary 



668 SIGNING OF THE TREATY. 

money, but when he learned tliat Li \> as coming to Japan as 
peace ambassador he felt that his opportunity had arrived. He 
bought a revolver in Yokohama, ]March 11, and the next day started 
for Tokio, reaching Bakan, March 24. At 4:15 o'clock that after- 
noon he approached the sedan chair in which the ambassador was 
returning from the conference hall to his lodgings in Shimonoseki 
and discharged his weapon, aiming it at the victim's breast. Al- 
though he endeavored to study his right arm by clasping it with 
the left, he missed his aim inflicting only a slight wound. 

The conditions of the peace which was to be concluded by treaty 
now began to interest the civilized world almost as closely as the 
two contending nations. The conditions which were demanded 
by the Japanese were guessed at by every one who thought him- 
self competent to form an opinion, and the varying opinions were 
sent out for discussion in the press of the world. At one time it 
was asserted to be arranged that Japan would conclude on offen- 
sive and defensive alliance with China, the object being to oppose 
European interests in the far east. This prospect occasioned 
considerable excitement among European (Jiplomates. It was 
recognized that should China's numbers and enormous resources 
be united to Japanese progression, activity, and administrative 
ability, the coalition would be almost impregnable to any assault 
that might be delivered upon it, and that it might enjo}^ excellent 
success in any Asiatic aggressions which it cared to attempt. 

It will be unprofitable here to discuss the various conditions of 
peace that were supposed to be proposed when we have at our 
command the settlement that was actually made. Nor is it 
worth while to consider the threatened intervention of Great 
Britain and Russia and France and Germany, each to protect her 
own interests in the east, for as a matter of fact no such interven- 
tions were made unless through the most secret diplomacy. In- 
asmuch as Japan's demands did not encroach upon any rights 
possessed by those countries in the east, there was no proper 
reason why they should intervene. 

Finally on Monday, April 15th, a peace convention was actu- 
ally signed at Shimonoseki by the plenipotentiaries of China and 
Japan. The independence of Corea was recognized. It was con- 
ceded that Japan should retain temporarily the important places 



STIPULATIONS OF THE TREATY. 669 

that ylic had conquered. Port Arthur, Wei-liai-wei, and Niu- 
chwang, including all the territory east of the Liao River. The 
island of Formosa was ceded permanently to Japan. An indem- 
nity was provided for to be paid by China to Japan of 200,000,- 
000 taels in silver, which is equivalent to about $150,000,000 in 
American gold. China agreed to no longer impose upon foreigners 
the odious tax known as Likin, levied upon all goods and sales, 
and a uniform standard tael was required to be adopted by China 
for her currency. All foreigners were to be permitted to introduce 
into China factories and machinery, and to lease warehouses in 
the interior. The important coQimercial concessions given to 
Japan were thus extended to all other treat}^ nations. The occu- 
pation of Port Arthur and Wei-hai-wei and of the conquered 
Manchoorian territory were to be temporary, lasting only long 
enough to guarantee the payment of the war indemnity by China. 
The terms of this payment provided that it should be made in 
silver in six annual installments. Japan retained extra-territorial 
jurisdiction in China, that is the right to try her own subjects 
arrested in China on charges of crime, and on the other hand 
China gave up the right to extra-territoriality in Japan. 

The Chinese customs were not placed under Japanese control 
by the terms of the treaty as had been alleged, and the stipula- 
tions provided that on the payment of the first two installments 
of the indemnity to be paid by China, Wei-hai-wei might be 
evacuated, provided China pledge her customs revenue in order 
to insure the payment of the balance due. This it was officially 
announced was optional, and might never take effect, while at 
the present time there was no intention of touching the customs 
revenue of China. It was understood that China conceded prac- 
tically everything required by Japan, except making Peking an 
open port, and this was strenuously resisted. At the solicitation 
of the Chinese envoy too, the indemnity demanded was reduced 
from three hundred million to two hundred million taels. 

So frequently were reports circulated, that Japan and China 
had concluded an offensive and defensive alliance, and that the 
commercial advantages secured by Japan were to be exclusive, 
that the government felt it desirable to deny those statements and 
issued the following announcement regarding the matter : 



670 NO ALLIANCE OF CHINA AND JAPAN. 

" MisappreliensioDs are reported to be current iu Europe in 
regard to the terms of the Japan-China treaty. It has been repre- 
sented that Japan has secured a two per cent ad volorem duty on 
imports instead of specific duty and has also formed an offensive 
and defensive alliance with China. The commercial concessions 
obtained by Japan beyond those already secured by the treaty 
powers under the favored nation clause comprise the right to 
navigate the Yang-tse-Kiang to Chung King, and also the Woon 
Sung River and the canals leading to Soo Chow and Hank Chow 
and the right to import machinery and certain goods duty free 
and to establish factories. These concessions are not exclusive to 
Japan. They naturally extended to European powers, in virtue 
of the favored nation clause. In securing these privileges for all 
Japan expects the approval of all the powers. The reported 
offensive and defensive alliance does not exist." 

Li Hung Chang and his suite started home to China escorted to 
their vessels by a guard of honor, and Count Ito and Viscount 
Matsu, the officers who negotiated the treaty of peace were 
received in audience by the emperor on their return to Hiro- 
shima. He expressed himself as entirely satisfied with the princi- 
pal points of the treaty which added much to the glory of the 
empire, and highly pleased at the signal service rendered by them. 
On the afternoon of April 22 the following proclamation was 
issued by the Japanese mikado : 

" Through peace, national prosperity is best promoted. Un- 
fortunately, the rupture of relations with China forced upon us a 
war which, after a lapse of ten months, is not yet ended. During 
this period our ministers, in concert with the army, navy and diet, 
have done all in their power to further our aims in obedience to 
our instructions. Our ardent desire, with the assistance of our 
subjects, in loyalty and sincerity, is to restore peace and thereby 
attain our object— the promotion of national prosperity. Now 
that peace is negotiated and armistice proclaimed, a permanent 
cessation of hostilities is near at hand. The terms of peace fixed 
by our minister of state give us complete satisfaction. The peace 
and glory thus secured renders the present a fitting time to en- 
lighten you as to the course of our future polic3^ 

'' We are rejoiced at the recent victories which have enhanced 



PEACEFULNESS ENJOINED. 671 

the glory of our empire. At the same time we are aware that the 
end of the road which must be traversed by the empire in the 
march of civilization is still far distant and remains yet to be at- 
tained. We therefore hope, in common with our loyal subjects, 
that we shall alwaj^s guard against self-contentedness, but in a 
spirit of modesty and humility strive to perfect out military de- 
fense without falling into extremes. In short, it is our wish that 
the government and the people alike shall work to a common end 
and that our subjects of all classes strive each in his sphere for 
the purpose of laying the foundation of permanent prosperity. 

" It is hereby definitely made known that no countenance will 
be given by us to such as, through conceit at the recent victories, 
may offer insult to another state or injure our relations with 
friendly powers, especially as regards China. After the exchange 
of the ratifications of the treaty of peace, frendship should be re- 
stored and endeavors made to increase more than ever before the 
relations of good neighborhood. It is our pleasure that our sub- 
jects pay due respect to these expressed wishes." 

Let us now take a hasty glance in conclusion at the condition 
in which the three countries with which we have dealt are left at 
the close of the war, and the prospects for their future. The 
Japanese government is in the hands of a progressive and able 
emperor, supported by a cabinet composed of the foremost states- 
men of the east, and reigning under constitutional forms. Nat- 
urally elated by the wonderful success of their arms, it is to be 
fairly expected that they will continue in the progressiveness 
which has marked the island empire's history since Perry opened 
the door for western light to shine in. In the east they should 
become b}^ virtue of the abilities the dominant power, unless by 
chance the Chinese have learned a lesson which they will put into 
effect. With the constant impression of western civilization upon 
them, it is to be hoped that the Japanese will acquire a firm moral 
and intellectual basis for the manners of life that their intelli- 
gence and activity have adopted, and become in the best sense a 
civilized nation. What they lack now to reach this point, are the 
things that can only come by a succession of generations of civi- 
lization. Wonderful record as the last forty years have made for 
the island empire, they have not given to that realm yet a com- 



672 WHAT OF THE FUTURE? 

plete and rounded civilization. The best friends of Japan hope 
and believe that she will not permit her splendid successes of the 
war to make her over lordly and conceited. 

China is the enigma of the east. It is certain that the influen- 
ces of their defeat will open the Chinese empire very rapidly to 
modern civilization and investment. But whether or not China 
retain her conservatism and refuse to adopt the things that are in- 
terspersed among her people can scarcely be predicted. The es- 
tablished system has received a severe shock from the Japanese 
victory, and surely a new or civilized and more vigorous one will 
take its place. It is an actual fact that so far as can be said by 
those most familiar with the country, the knowledge that the war 
has even been in progress has probably not yet penetrated to the 
confines of the empire, so poor are the means of communication 
and so indifferent are the people of one region to the things that 
are happening to those of another province. An experienced 
traveler in China relates that he penetrated from Shanghai south- 
westward through China towards India immediately after the de- 
struction of the summer palace of the emperor by French and 
English troops, and the investiture of Peking thirty-five 3'ears 
ago. The expedition was considered dangerous, as the antago- 
nism of the whole country, smarting under humiliation and defeat 
was to be feared. On arriving at Ichang, eleven hundred miles 
from the coast, the war news had just come to the knowledge of 
the government officials ; three hundred miles farther west there 
was absolute ignorance that any war had occurred. At the city of 
Pingshan, two thousand miles west of the coast, the party heard 
of a Mohammedan insurrection of some years' standing, ranging 
in the province of Yun-nan, but the bare fact of such an import- 
ant disturbance had not yet reached the coast. Certain it is how- 
ever, that if China does assimilate the lesson that she has had a 
chance to learn, a new power will exist in the east that will need 
to be watched by western nations. 

As to Corea it is difficult again to prophesy. Should Japan 
take strinf^ent pains to provide for civilizing that hermit king- 
dom, it is possible that the work may be done, but so difficult are 
the political conditions in that peninsula, and so unsympathetic 
are the Corean rulers and chief men with all western ideas of 



ULTIMATE EFFECT OF THE WAR. 673 

progress, that the task will be a bitter one. If Japan maintains 
the independence of Corea in its purity, that must mean that she 
will keep her own hands out of Corean affairs. This is scarcely 
to be expected, for the energetic empire has imposed upon her- 
self the task of reforming Corea, and it is sure that she will make 
strenuous efforts to do it. 

As one result of the war between China and Japan must be to 
increase the points of contact between the eastern and western 
worlds, the fortune of parties and the evolution of domestic poli- 
tics in those countries must, in future, command to a greater de- 
gree than in the past, the attention of American and European 
observers. Political evolution has been rapid in Japan. Changes 
which in Anglo-Saxon countries have been the slow product of 
centuries, are, in this portion of what has been called " the un- 
changing east," crowded into little more than a single generation. 
What may be done in Corea and China cannot be told. But the 
fairest prophecy would be that the horrors of war will be util- 
ized, by the influence of time and a better understanding, to im- 
prove and modernize the Orient. 



TPTE END.. 



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